Legal Rights and
Search Laws
Rights
• Sections 7 to 11
• Section 8- Right to Privacy
• “Reasonable and Probable Grounds to do so”
• Police can search if you have been arrested or they believe there
may be a concealed weapon- “police search incident to arrest”
• Police have different powers when dealing with a car
• Police can arrest without obtaining a search warrant if they catch
the person in the act or if they have reasonable grounds to believe a
person has committed a crime
Rights on Being Searched
• Police can only enter your home with a search warrant
• A legal court issued document giving them authority to search
• Police must swear before a justice of the peace or a judge that an
offence has been committed- they must have reasonable grounds to
believe that evidence of the crime exists on the property
• The search can only happen on the day on the warrant and only
involve the areas and items listed on the warrant
• Items seized can be kept for up to 3 months or longer if used in trial
Search Laws and Rules
• If permission to enter a property is refused police have the
right to break into the premises
• Telewarrant- created for remote areas of Canada, but make a
lot of sense now a days
• Controlled Drugs and Substances Act- police can search
without a warrant if they have reasonable grounds to believe
there are drugs- and the people inside these premises can be
searched as well
• R v. Shankar- pg. 159
Rights on Being Detained/Arrested
• Sect. 9
• Detained simply refers to the request for officers to talk to you (which you do
not have to do)
• If an officer demands answers to questions you must demand to see a lawyer
first
• 70% of accused persons gave written/verbal testimony before speaking to a
lawyer
• Section 10
• Legal Aid
• Section 10 (c) – Bail hearing- the right to tell their story and the judge needs to
decide within 24 hours if you should remain in custody
• Habeas Corpus
Release and Bail
Procedures
Options
• Released, detained at Police Station, fingerprinted, detained until
bail hearing
• Bail is money or property guaranteed to the court to ensure that the
accused will return to court at a later date
• Surety- the person who posted bail
• Release on conditions
• Reverse Onus- a violation of our rights
• If released- accused must sign an undertaking• Recognizance- promise to uphold conditions and appear in court at a
particular date