R. v. Ellison

R. v. Ellison

Police had reasonable grounds to believe a breach occurred but failed to satisfy statutory prerequisites for a warrantless arrest in a dwelling: there were no exigent circumstances or hot pursuit, the grandmother's invitation was limited to calming the situation and did not authorize a warrantless arrest, therefore the entry and arrest were not lawful and the obstruction/resisting charges could not stand.

Citation
2010 NSPC 78
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Arnell Ellison
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
15 December 2010
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Judgment
Outcome
Mixed: convictions on breach counts; acquittals on obstruction/resisting counts.
Legal Topics
Arrest Without Warrant, Entry Into Dwelling, Breach of Interim Release, Obstruction of Police, Exigent Circumstances, Charter S.8
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Procedural Law Arrest Without Warrant Entry Into Dwelling Breach of Interim Release Obstruction of Police Exigent Circumstances +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Arnell Ellison

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether police could lawfully arrest the accused inside his dwelling without a warrant for a prior alleged breach of release conditions
  2. 2 Whether exigent circumstances or invitation justified warrantless entry into the dwelling
  3. 3 Whether the accused unlawfully resisted or obstructed police in the lawful execution of their duty given the lawfulness of the arrest

Ratio Decidendi

Police had reasonable grounds to believe a breach occurred but failed to satisfy statutory prerequisites for a warrantless arrest in a dwelling: there were no exigent circumstances or hot pursuit, the grandmother's invitation was limited to calming the situation and did not authorize a warrantless arrest, therefore the entry and arrest were not lawful and the obstruction/resisting charges could not stand.

Court Disposition

Mixed: convictions on breach counts; acquittals on obstruction/resisting counts.

Orders

  • Convictions entered on counts 1 and 2 (breach of curfew and failing to keep the peace)
  • Acquittals entered on counts 3, 4 and 5 (unlawful/willful obstruction or resisting police)