Ontario criminal | Charter of Rights
ARBITRARY DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT
Constellation of facts provided ample grounds for accused’s arrest
Accused appealed conviction. Issue was constitutionality of arrest that took place at door to accused’s apartment. Appeal dismissed. Despite some confusion in trial judge’s terminology between grounds for detention and grounds for arrest, findings of fact by trial judge, including marijuana smoke, accused’s suspicious conduct, and visible drug paraphernalia, provided ample grounds for accused’s arrest. Constellation of facts, viewed reasonably and cumulatively by someone with experience of officer in question, provided ample grounds for accused’s arrest. As arrest was lawful and, therefore, not breach of s. 9 of Charter, subsequent conduct of police, although clearly improper, could not have impacted on admissibility of evidence in question.
R. v. Meiz (Mar. 17, 2014, Ont. C.A., Doherty J.A., John Laskin J.A., and K. Feldman J.A., File No. CA C55769) 113 W.C.B. (2d) 406.
