Dirk Derstine

The applicant, charged with the abduction and murder of an eight-year-old child, brought a pre-trial Charter application alleging unreasonable search and seizure regarding several search warrants.

The court upheld the validity of the warrants and the search of the applicant's vehicle and residence, allowing the Crown to admit physical evidence.

However, the court found that the warrantless forensic search of the applicant's laptop and cell phone, which had been seized from the vehicle, violated s. 8 of the Charter.

Applying the Grant framework, the court excluded the digital evidence under s. 24(2), noting the high privacy interest in personal computers and the marginal probative value of the evidence sought to be admitted.

The appellant appealed an order allowing a broadcaster to broadcast a video with the identities of the individuals obscured.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the motion judge's application of the Dagenais/Mentuck test to balance the appellant's privacy concerns against freedom of the press.

The Crown appealed the acquittals of the respondents, arguing the trial judge erred in finding a breach of section 8 of the Charter and excluding evidence under section 24(2).

The trial judge had excised misleading information from the Information to Obtain (ITO) and concluded the remaining facts could not support the search warrant.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that even after removing the misstatements, there remained sufficient reliable evidence connecting the respondents and the searched premises to the robbery to justify issuing the warrant.

A new trial was ordered.