R. v. Debaie (W.A.), (2000) 187 N.S.R.(2d) 188 (ProvCt)

• Court: Provincial Court of Nova Scotia (Canada)
• Case Date: June 14, 2000
• Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
• Citations: (2000), 187 N.S.R.(2d) 188 (ProvCt)

R. v. Debaie (W.A.) (2000), 187 N.S.R.(2d) 188 (ProvCt);

 585 A.P.R. 188

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2000] N.S.R.(2d) TBEd. OC.002

Her Majesty the Queen v. Weldon Andrew Debaie

(Court File No.: 852762)

Indexed As: R. v. Debaie (W.A.)

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Gibson, A.C.J.P.C.

July 14, 2000.

Summary:

An accused was charged with refusing to comply with a roadside screening demand.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Court ac­quitted the accused.

Civil Rights - Topic 4610

Right to counsel - General - Impaired driving - Demand for breath or blood sample - At 7:49 p.m., a police officer (Thorne) noted indicia of impairment, but lacked reasonable and probable grounds to make a breathalyzer demand on the ac­cused - Thorne directed the accused to his police vehicle and requested another officer (Fox) to bring a roadside screening device - Fox arrived at 8:09 p.m. - Thorne, who had not advised the accused of his suspicions or the reason for deten­tion, made a roadside screening demand - The accused was charged with refusing to comply - Evidence regarding the issue of time lacked detail - The Nova Scotia Pro­vincial Court acquitted the accused where the demand had not been made "forthwith" - The Crown failed to show that the screening device was administered prior to the time it would have taken Thorne to transport the accused to the police station -Time did not stop running because of the delayed demand - Alterna­tively, the ac­cused's s. 10(b) Charter rights were vio­lated.

Criminal Law - Topic 1386

Motor vehicles - Impaired driving - Roadside screening test - Excuse for refusal - [See Civil Rights - Topic 4610 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 1386.2

Motor vehicles - Impaired driving - Roadside screening test - Time and place for - [See Civil Rights - Topic 4610 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 1386.4

Motor vehicles - Impaired driving - Road­side screening test - Evidence and proof - [See Civil Rights - Topic 4610 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 1386.4

Motor vehicles - Impaired driving - Road­side screening test - Evidence and proof - An accused was charged with refusing to comply with a roadside screen­ing demand - At issue included whether the demand had been made "forthwith" within the meaning of s. 254(2) of the Criminal Code - The Nova Scotia Provin­cial Court stated that "[t]he accurate re­cording of all activity from the time the detention begins and throughout that de­tention is important in order to assess whether the actions of the police have met the requirements of the words 'provide forthwith', 'promptly' and 'without delay'. Similarly it is helpful to have evidence with respect to whether the amount of time required to travel to a police station for purposes of providing a screening device sample may be longer or shorter than the time to bring the screening device to the place of detention." - See paragraph 8.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Grant, [1991] 3 S.C.R. 139; 130 N.R. 250; 93 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 181; 292 A.P.R. 181; 67 C.C.C.(3d) 268, refd to. [para. 16].

R. v. Therens, [1985] 1 S.C.R. 613; 59 N.R. 122; 40 Sask.R. 122, refd to. [para. 17].

R. v. Thomsen, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 640; 84 N.R. 347; 27 O.A.C. 85, refd to. [para. 17].

R. v. Misasi (F.) (1993), 61 O.A.C. 207; 79 C.C.C.(3d) 339 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 18].

R. v. Latour (P.) (1997), 101 O.A.C. 108; 116 C.C.C.(3d) 279 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 19].

R. v. Cote (1992), 54 O.A.C. 281; 70 C.C.C.(3d) 280 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 19].

R. v. Demers, [1997] O.J. No. 4860 (Prov. Div.), refd to. [para. 22].

Counsel:

Alonzo Wright, for the Crown;

Jill Fram, for the accused.

Gibson, A.C.J.P.C., of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court, heard this matter at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on June 14, 2000, and delivered the following decision on July 14, 2000.