Trial courts take direction from previous appellate level decisions. However, as can be seen below, trial courts have generated the most police powers out of all three levels we categorized in this section. Trial court judges are essential to the fact finding process within the criminal justice system. Once the facts have been agreed upon in a trial, they are accepted by appellate courts if there is an appeal by the losing side at the trial level. This suggests that trial courts have an impact on appellate level decisions and the facts and arguments heard at the trial level are often relied upon during the appeal process.
Trial courts take direction from previous appellate level decisions. However, as can be seen below, trial courts have generated the most police powers out of all three levels we categorized in this section. Trial court judges are essential to the fact finding process within the criminal justice system. Once the facts have been agreed upon in a trial, they are accepted by appellate courts if there is an appeal by the losing side at the trial level. This suggests that trial courts have an impact on appellate level decisions and the facts and arguments heard at the trial level are often relied upon during the appeal process.
Common Law Police Powers Deployed from 2020-2021:
Common Law Police Powers Deployed from 2020-2021:
In the past 35 years, the Supreme Court of Canada has generated several key police powers that have changed the criminal law landscape. Alongside warrantless roadside detentions (R v Dedman), the Supreme Court has provided police with the ability to detain individuals during a police investigation and search incident to the investigatory detention for police safety (R v Mann). The Supreme Court has also provided police with the power to use sniffer-dogs without a warrant (R v Kang-Brown, R v AM), and warrantless cell phone searches incident to arrest (R v Fearon).
Search:
The cases on this page highlight the growth of police search powers after Dedman. Cases such as R v Fearon established that cell phones could be searched incident to arrest while cases such as R v Golden indicated that a suspect could be strip searched incident to arrest on reasonable grounds. Along with Fearon and Golden, several other police search powers can be traced back to Dedman and the Waterfield test. Click on the cases below for more information on the rulings:
= Search incident to arrest
= Bodily search
= Search without a warrant
= Search incident to detention
= Search of technology
Iskra
(1999)
A "search incident to arrest" is any search of an arrested person that occurs immediately following
their arrest. Such a search may involve a search of their person or a search of their property (eg/ car,
bag)
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A "bodily search" Any search of a person where a police has to touch part of a person’s body or
a piece of clothing that is on a persons body. This category includes both frisks and strip searches.
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A "search without a warrant" is any search that occurs without a warrant in a situation where a
warrant would normally be required. Incidences are categorized as such when the judge explicitly makes
reference to the fact that the search was done without a warrant.
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A "search incident to detention" is any search that occurs of a detained person immediately
following their detention. Detention in this context includes physical detention and psychological detention.
"Search of technology" quite simply refers to the search of a piece of technology that stores information.