The Crown appealed an acquittal in a child pornography case where the trial judge excluded evidence obtained through a search warrant.
The trial judge found the warrant was invalid because police failed to verify information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) report for accuracy, failed to include a disclaimer from the NCMEC report, failed to confirm Microsoft's use of PhotoDNA software, and found the information stale despite only seven to eight months having elapsed.
The Court of Appeal allowed the Crown's appeal and entered a conviction, finding the trial judge applied an incorrect legal standard by requiring verification for accuracy rather than assessing reasonableness, and erred in substituting her own views for those of the issuing justice.
