R. v. Hardy (T.), 2007 SKPC 149

• Judge: Arnot, P.C.J.
• Court: Provincial Court of Saskatchewan (Canada)
• Case Date: December 11, 2007
• Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
• Citations: 2007 SKPC 149;(2007), 309 Sask.R. 86 (PC)

R. v. Hardy (T.) (2007), 309 Sask.R. 86 (PC)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2008] Sask.R. TBEd. FE.017

Her Majesty the Queen v. Trevor Hardy

(Information No. 24195222; 2007 SKPC 149)

Indexed As: R. v. Hardy (T.)

Saskatchewan Provincial Court

Arnot, P.C.J.

December 11, 2007.

Summary:

At his trial on impaired driving charges, Hardy asserted breaches of his right to be free from unlawful search and seizure (Charter, s. 8), right not to be arbitrarily detained (Charter, s. 9) and right to counsel (Charter, s. 10(b)).

The Saskatchewan Provincial Court found no infringement of Hardy's Charter rights.

Civil Rights - Topic 3603

Detention and imprisonment - Detention - What constitutes arbitrary detention - At 1:03 a.m., an officer observed Hardy's vehicle hug a curb, almost moving towards the ditch, as it turned onto a highway - The officer attempted to get the vehicle's licence plate number, but was unable to read it - He stopped the vehicle to determine who was driving, whether the driver had a licence and was able to drive and whether the vehicle was properly registered - The officer smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle - Hardy failed an approved screening device test - The officer arrested him for impaired driving and advised him of his rights - Hardy said he did not want to contact a lawyer - The officer made a breath sample demand - At the detachment, Hardy again declined to contact a lawyer - At his trial, Hardy asserted breaches of his right to be free from unlawful search and seizure (Charter, s. 8), right not to be arbitrarily detained (Charter, s. 9) and right to counsel (Charter, s. 10(b)) - The Saskatchewan Provincial Court found no infringement of Hardy's Charter rights - The officer had reasonable grounds to detain Hardy and he acted in accordance with his authority under the Traffic Safety Act - The vehicle was stopped for articulated purposes - Even if the stopping had been arbitrary, the detention was justifiable under s. 1 of the Charter - Hardy had clearly and unequivocally waived his right to counsel, never changed his mind and never formulated any intention to exercise his right to counsel.

Civil Rights - Topic 4612

Right to counsel - General - Waiver or abandonment of - [See Civil Rights - Topic 3603 ].

Civil Rights - Topic 8348

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Application - Exceptions - Reasonable limits prescribed by law (Charter, s. 1) - [See Civil Rights - Topic 3603 ].

Police - Topic 3105

Powers - Investigation - Impaired driving - [See Civil Rights - Topic 3603 ].

Police - Topic 3204

Powers - Direction - Stopping vehicles - General - [See Civil Rights - Topic 3603 ].

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Collins, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 265; 74 N.R. 276, refd to. [para. 4].

R. v. Houben (K.) (2006), 289 Sask.R. 118; 382 W.A.C. 118; 2006 SKCA 129, refd to. [para. 19].

R. v. Doell (Q.) (2007), 293 Sask.R. 262; 397 W.A.C. 262; 2007 SKCA 61, refd to. [para. 20].

R. v. Lott (E.C.) (1998), 174 Sask.R. 133 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 23].

R. v. Basko (B.H.) (2007), 304 Sask.R. 108; 413 W.A.C. 108; 2007 SKCA 111, dist. [para. 31].

R. v. Prosper, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 236; 172 N.R. 161; 133 N.S.R.(2d) 321; 380 A.P.R. 321, dist. [para. 32].

R. v. McDonald (W.) (2001), 224 Sask.R. 235 (Prov. Ct.), refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Latimer (R.W.), [1997] 2 W.W.R. 525; 207 N.R. 215; 152 Sask.R. 1; 140 W.A.C. 1 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 34].

Counsel:

P.G. Polischuk, for the Crown;

M.W. Owens, for the accused.

This voir dire was heard at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, by Arnot, P.C.J., of the Saskatchewan Provincial Court, who delivered the following ruling on December 11, 2007.