The accused, Raymond Santos Escutin, brought an application alleging violations of his Charter rights under sections 7, 8, and 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, seeking to exclude breath samples.
The court found a breach of the accused's section 10(b) right to counsel due to an arbitrary delay by the police officer in providing rights and caution, exacerbated by the officer's misunderstanding of the "without delay" requirement and eliciting incriminating information during the delay.
Applying the R. v. Grant factors, the court determined that the seriousness of the state's conduct and the impact on the accused's Charter interests outweighed society's interest in admitting the reliable evidence, leading to the exclusion of the breath samples.
