R. v. S.T.P.

R. v. S.T.P.

Detention was a minimally intrusive, reasonable investigative detention; viewed cumulatively the officers had objectively reasonable grounds to arrest because nervous conduct on sighting police, the vehicle’s association with bail violations and the officer’s detection of burned marijuana smell formed a coherent contextual basis for a finding that marijuana may have been present; reliance on smell without special training is permissible when it is part of that larger context; therefore the arrest and search were lawful and the application to exclude evidence was denied.

Citation
2008 NSPC 66
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Defendant: S.T.P.
Court
Nova Scotia Provincial Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
31 October 2008
Procedural Posture
Criminal Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cdsa S.5(2)) / Youth Court Ruling on Application to Exclude Evidence / Pre‑trial Charter S.8 Challenge
Outcome
Application to exclude evidence denied; evidence admissible.
Legal Topics
Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking, Detention, Arrest, Reasonable Grounds, Smell of Marijuana, Exclusion of Evidence
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Evidence Charter Law Youth Justice Search and Seizure Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Detention Arrest +3 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

S.T.P.

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cdsa S.5(2)) / Youth Court Ruling on Application to Exclude Evidence / Pre‑trial Charter S.8 Challenge

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Was the detention lawful?
  2. 2 Did police have reasonable and probable grounds to arrest?
  3. 3 Was the search incident to arrest lawful?

Ratio Decidendi

Detention was a minimally intrusive, reasonable investigative detention; viewed cumulatively the officers had objectively reasonable grounds to arrest because nervous conduct on sighting police, the vehicle’s association with bail violations and the officer’s detection of burned marijuana smell formed a coherent contextual basis for a finding that marijuana may have been present; reliance on smell without special training is permissible when it is part of that larger context; therefore the arrest and search were lawful and the application to exclude evidence was denied.

Court Disposition

Application to exclude evidence denied; evidence admissible.

Orders

  • Application for exclusion of evidence denied