2 total
The court admitted a loaded handgun found during a traffic stop despite a 26-minute delay in providing rights to counsel.
The accused, Amirhosein Alipourbati, pleaded not guilty to several weapons charges after a handgun was seized from his car during a traffic stop.
The trial focused on a Charter application alleging violations of sections 7, 8, 9, 10(a), and 10(b), including claims of racial profiling, unlawful search, and delayed right to counsel, as well as lost evidence.
The court found a s. 7 violation for lost roadside communication evidence and a s. 10(b) violation for a 26-minute delay in providing rights to counsel.
However, the court dismissed the racial profiling claim and found the search of the vehicle lawful under the Cannabis Control Act.
Applying the Grant test, the court determined that excluding the handgun evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, given the seriousness of the offence and the modest impact of the Charter breaches.
The handgun evidence was admitted, and the accused was convicted.
The accused was convicted of impaired driving but acquitted of the over 80 charge due to an unreasonable delay in breath testing after waiving his right to counsel.
The accused was charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and operation with blood alcohol concentration exceeding 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.
A concerned citizen reported erratic driving, and the accused was arrested after failing a screening device test.
The Crown's case on the over 80 charge failed because the first breath sample was not taken as soon as practicable; the officer delayed the testing by 24 minutes to facilitate the accused's contact with duty counsel despite the accused's express declination of that right.
The impaired operation charge succeeded based on the constellation of observations by both the citizen witness and the arresting officer, establishing impairment beyond a reasonable doubt.
