R. v. McCarthy

R. v. McCarthy

A police request for identification in a public terminal did not amount to detention; a trained dog sniff of the exterior of a backpack in a public place did not engage a reasonable expectation of privacy under s.8; the dog’s positive indication together with the accused’s behaviour provided reasonable and probable grounds for lawful arrest and a search incident to arrest; therefore the evidence seized was admissible and exclusion under s.24(2) was not warranted.

Citation
2005 NSPC 49
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Thomas Joseph McCarthy
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
9 August 2005
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Voir Dire / Admissibility of Evidence
Outcome
Application to exclude evidence denied; evidence admitted; accused subsequently found guilty.
Legal Topics
Search and Seizure, Detention, Arrest, Exclusion of Evidence, Police Dog Sniff, Charter S.8, Charter S.9, Charter S.10
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Law Search and Seizure Detention Arrest Exclusion of Evidence Police Dog Sniff +3 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Thomas Joseph McCarthy

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Voir Dire / Admissibility of Evidence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the accused was arbitrarily detained contrary to s.9 of the Charter
  2. 2 Whether a police dog sniff of a backpack in a public terminal constituted an unreasonable search under s.8 of the Charter
  3. 3 Whether the subsequent arrest was arbitrary and contrary to s.9

Ratio Decidendi

A police request for identification in a public terminal did not amount to detention; a trained dog sniff of the exterior of a backpack in a public place did not engage a reasonable expectation of privacy under s.8; the dog’s positive indication together with the accused’s behaviour provided reasonable and probable grounds for lawful arrest and a search incident to arrest; therefore the evidence seized was admissible and exclusion under s.24(2) was not warranted.

Court Disposition

Application to exclude evidence denied; evidence admitted; accused subsequently found guilty.

Orders

  • Application to exclude evidence denied
  • Cocaine evidence admitted at trial