Pubdate: Sat, 18 Jul 2009
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Sue Bailey, Canadian Press

TOP COURT DISMISSES $4M DRUG CONVICTION

Illegal Search Of SUV In 2004 Was Flagrant Breach Of Suspect's 
Charter Rights, Supreme Court Rules

OTTAWA (CP) - Even the discovery of cocaine worth up to $4 million 
was no excuse for a police pull-over and search that trampled Charter 
rights, says Canada's top court.

The Supreme Court of Canada has thrown out a drug conviction linked 
to the 2004 seizure because the officer who hit the narcotics 
motherlode "flagrantly" breached his suspect's Charter protections.

The high court ruled 6-1 to acquit Bradley Harrison.

It was one of four judgments handed down yesterday that clarify legal 
limits for judges and police when it comes to evidence obtained 
through detention or searches that cross the Charter line.

The rulings underscore that any breach of rights must be carefully 
balanced against the value of the evidence, how it was obtained and 
the facts of each case.

In the Harrison case, the high court overruled both the trial judge 
and the majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal in stressing that a 
provincial police officer went much too far.

"While an officer's 'hunch' is a valuable investigative tool - 
indeed, here it proved to be highly accurate - it is no substitute 
for proper Charter standards when interfering with a suspect's 
liberty," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

On Oct. 24, 2004, the Ontario Provincial Police officer stopped an 
SUV near Kirkland Lake, Ont., that Harrison and a friend had rented 
two days earlier at the Vancouver airport. The constable had noticed 
the vehicle was missing a front licence plate. He quickly realized, 
however, that the SUV was registered in Alberta and didn't require a 
front plate.

That's where the matter should have ended, wrote McLachlin. Instead, 
the officer told court that since he already had his lights flashing, 
the "integrity" of the police required he pull the vehicle over.

Harrison said he couldn't find his driver's licence. A computer 
search revealed that it was suspended. The officer arrested Harrison, 
but then searched the vehicle. Two cardboard boxes in the back of the 
SUV contained 35 kilograms of cocaine with a value of up to $4 million.

Harrison had been sentenced to five years in prison.
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