Pubdate: Fri, 15 Aug 2014
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2014 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Steve Rennie
Page: A16

RARE ORAL ARGUMENTS AT SUPREME COURT IN MARIJUANA CASE

OTTAWA - Lawyers for the owner of a British Columbia bong shop and 
one of his employees will get a rare opportunity to present oral 
arguments as to why the Supreme Court of Canada should hear their appeal.

It's a highly unusual move for the top court, which normally rules on 
leave-to-appeal applications based on written documents.

Then again, it's a highly unusual case.

Timothy Felger, the bong-shop owner and a B.C. pot activist, expected 
undercover police officers to respect a posted sign ordering the cops 
to stay away. Not surprisingly, they didn't. Felger and his employee, 
Natasha Healy, were charged after a sting operation at the shop in 
Abbotsford, B.C., in 2009.

Undercover officers bought marijuana on five separate occasions and 
also saw other customers making similar purchases.

Felger and Healy argued at trial that a posted sign instructing 
police to stay out without a warrant meant the sting amounted to an 
unreasonable search.

The trial judge ruled the evidence could not be used and acquitted 
the pair in 2012, but the B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial.

The appeals court said in a written decision the store was a public 
place, meaning the police were free to investigate marijuana sales there.

"An objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in a retail store 
could not be achieved simply by posting a sign excluding law 
enforcement officers," wrote Justice Nicole Garson in a unanimous judgment.

Felger and Healy's lawyers asked the Supreme Court for leave to 
appeal the decision.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court took the rare step of granting them an 
oral hearing.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom