In R v Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6 [Bykovets], a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) found that Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses are protected by the right against unreasonable search and seizure in section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Henceforth, police will require a search warrant to compel […]
In R v Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decided that Canadians have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses. As a result, law enforcement and investigative agencies will require judicial authorization to compel disclosure of IP addresses, or else be found to breach section 8 of […]
When evidence is collected via conduct that violates an accused person’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982 Sched B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 [Charter], courts must analyze whether theevidence ought to be excluded as provided by s. 24(2) of the Charter. The s. 24(2) analysis was […]
Every once in a while, a case comes along displaying unsettling and disturbing facts. In such instances, the law is often seen as a lighthouse guiding us through troubling legal issues. R v Jarvis, 2019 SCC 10 [Jarvis], is one of those cases. Mr. Jarvis, a high school professor, surreptitiously recorded young girls in his […]
People share things. They share rooms, apartments, and wi-fi passwords. They share socks, Netflix accounts, and leftovers. But what does this sharing entail, exactly? As a shared owner, what rights do you actually have? Does shared ownership allow one to unilaterally decide what happens to the shared object or thing? In R v Reeves, 2018 […]
On May 5th 2017, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in R v Reeves, 2017 ONCA 365 [Reeves], which deals with issues relating to the search and seizure of a computer from a jointly-owned home. The judgment also considers the admissibility of evidence (child pornography, in this case) obtained in violation of an […]
How private are your private messages? Can the police read the texts you send to others? This post explores R v Marakah, 2017 SCC 59, in which the Supreme Court of Canada found that a sender can have a reasonable expectation of privacy over messages retrieved from the phone of the person receiving those messages. The […]
In R v Fearon, 2014 SCC 77 [Fearon], the Supreme Court of Canada considered the circumstances under which police officers can justifiably conduct a warrantless search of an arrestee's cell phone or other digital device. Fundamentally, the decision required the court to assess and balance the public purposes served by effective law enforcement against the dignity and privacy […]
