The appeal considered whether police may conduct a warrantless penile swab as a search incident to arrest in a sexual assault investigation.
The majority held that such a search can be authorized at common law if police have reasonable grounds to believe it will reveal and preserve evidence of the offence and if it is carried out reasonably with safeguards protecting dignity and privacy.
Applying that framework, the Court found no breach of section 8 and upheld admission of the DNA evidence.
Concurring reasons would have found a section 8 breach but admitted the evidence under section 24(2).
Dissenting reasons would have excluded the evidence and ordered a new trial.
