R. v. Fawthrop

R. v. Fawthrop

The conviction was set aside because the warrant was valid only as to a limited list of items, the Crown failed to establish a lawful basis for seizure of material outside that valid portion (insufficient evidence to justify seizure under s.489 or the plain view doctrine), the resulting seizure constituted a serious...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
C36382
Parties
Appellant: Laurence Fawthrop; Respondent: Her Majesty the Queen
Court
Court of Appeal for Ontario
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
5 July 2002
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Appeal From Convictions and Sentences
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part: conviction for possession of child pornography set aside and appellant acquitted; DNA order set aside; leave to appeal sentence granted and sentence varied to time served.
Legal Topics
Search Warrant Validity, Plain View Doctrine, Criminal Code S.489, Charter S.8 Unreasonable Search, Charter S.24(2) Exclusion of Evidence, DNA Data Bank Orders, Possession of Child Pornography, Severance of Warrants
Source Language
en
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Law Search and Seizure Law Search Warrant Validity Plain View Doctrine Criminal Code S.489 Charter S.8 Unreasonable Search +4 more

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Laurence Fawthrop

Appellant

Her Majesty the Queen

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Appeal From Convictions and Sentences

  1. 1 Whether the search warrant was supported by reasonable and probable grounds
  2. 2 Whether the warrant was facially invalid
  3. 3 Whether seized material was lawfully seized under Criminal Code s.489(1) or the common law plain view doctrine

Ratio Decidendi

The conviction was set aside because the warrant was valid only as to a limited list of items, the Crown failed to establish a lawful basis for seizure of material outside that valid portion (insufficient evidence to justify seizure under s.489 or the plain view doctrine), the resulting seizure constituted a serious s.8 Charter breach amounting to a fishing expedition and admission of the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute under s.24(2); accordingly the seized evidence was excluded, the conviction overturned, the DNA order set aside and sentence varied to time served.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part: conviction for possession of child pornography set aside and appellant acquitted; DNA order set aside; leave to appeal sentence granted and sentence varied to time served.

Orders

  • Set aside conviction for possession of child pornography and enter an acquittal
  • Set aside order requiring provision of bodily sample for DNA data bank under s.487.052(1)