{"id":7471,"date":"2022-04-12T09:51:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T13:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccla.org\/?p=7471"},"modified":"2022-04-12T09:52:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T13:52:01","slug":"scc-rules-on-constitutionality-of-post-arrest-searches-of-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.ccla.org\/criminal-justice\/scc-rules-on-constitutionality-of-post-arrest-searches-of-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"SCC Rules on Constitutionality of Post-Arrest Searches of Houses"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=\u00a0\u00bbin_container\u00a0\u00bb full_screen_row_position=\u00a0\u00bbmiddle\u00a0\u00bb column_margin=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction_tablet=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction_phone=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb scene_position=\u00a0\u00bbcenter\u00a0\u00bb text_color=\u00a0\u00bbdark\u00a0\u00bb text_align=\u00a0\u00bbleft\u00a0\u00bb row_border_radius=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb row_border_radius_applies=\u00a0\u00bbbg\u00a0\u00bb overlay_strength=\u00a0\u00bb0.3″ gradient_direction=\u00a0\u00bbleft_to_right\u00a0\u00bb shape_divider_position=\u00a0\u00bbbottom\u00a0\u00bb bg_image_animation=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column column_padding=\u00a0\u00bbno-extra-padding\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_tablet=\u00a0\u00bbinherit\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_phone=\u00a0\u00bbinherit\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_position=\u00a0\u00bball\u00a0\u00bb column_element_spacing=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb background_color_opacity=\u00a0\u00bb1″ background_hover_color_opacity=\u00a0\u00bb1″ column_shadow=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_border_radius=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_link_target=\u00a0\u00bb_self\u00a0\u00bb gradient_direction=\u00a0\u00bbleft_to_right\u00a0\u00bb overlay_strength=\u00a0\u00bb0.3″ width=\u00a0\u00bb1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb tablet_text_alignment=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb phone_text_alignment=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb bg_image_animation=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb border_type=\u00a0\u00bbsimple\u00a0\u00bb column_border_width=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_border_style=\u00a0\u00bbsolid\u00a0\u00bb][nectar_global_section id=\u00a0\u00bb1355″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=\u00a0\u00bbfull_width_background\u00a0\u00bb full_screen_row_position=\u00a0\u00bbmiddle\u00a0\u00bb column_margin=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction_tablet=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb column_direction_phone=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb scene_position=\u00a0\u00bbcenter\u00a0\u00bb top_padding=\u00a0\u00bb4%\u00a0\u00bb constrain_group_1=\u00a0\u00bbyes\u00a0\u00bb bottom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb4%\u00a0\u00bb text_color=\u00a0\u00bbdark\u00a0\u00bb text_align=\u00a0\u00bbleft\u00a0\u00bb row_border_radius=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb row_border_radius_applies=\u00a0\u00bbbg\u00a0\u00bb class=\u00a0\u00bbpost-links\u00a0\u00bb overlay_strength=\u00a0\u00bb0.3″ gradient_direction=\u00a0\u00bbleft_to_right\u00a0\u00bb shape_divider_position=\u00a0\u00bbbottom\u00a0\u00bb bg_image_animation=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb shape_type=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column column_padding=\u00a0\u00bbno-extra-padding\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_tablet=\u00a0\u00bbinherit\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_phone=\u00a0\u00bbinherit\u00a0\u00bb column_padding_position=\u00a0\u00bball\u00a0\u00bb column_element_spacing=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb background_color_opacity=\u00a0\u00bb1″ background_hover_color_opacity=\u00a0\u00bb1″ column_shadow=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_border_radius=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_link_target=\u00a0\u00bb_self\u00a0\u00bb gradient_direction=\u00a0\u00bbleft_to_right\u00a0\u00bb overlay_strength=\u00a0\u00bb0.3″ width=\u00a0\u00bb1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb tablet_text_alignment=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb phone_text_alignment=\u00a0\u00bbdefault\u00a0\u00bb bg_image_animation=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb border_type=\u00a0\u00bbsimple\u00a0\u00bb column_border_width=\u00a0\u00bbnone\u00a0\u00bb column_border_style=\u00a0\u00bbsolid\u00a0\u00bb][vc_column_text]On Friday April 8 the Supreme Court released its ruling in R v Stairs<\/em>, a case that examined police authority to conduct a warrantless search of a house after a person has been arrested.<\/p>\n

CCLA intervened in the case to argue that the police\u202fmust\u202fhave reasonable and probable grounds to search someone\u2019s home incident to arrest.\u202f\u202fIn our view,\u202fthe\u202fCharter<\/em>\u202fshould permit searches of a home incident to arrest in two\u202fspecific\u202fcircumstances: imminent risks to officer safety and imminent risks of the destruction of evidence.\u202f The scope of the search of a home incidental to arrest\u202fmust be\u202flimited by the purpose for which it is undertaken; that is,\u202fonly as is necessary to ensure officer safety or the preservation of evidence.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s decision did recognize that the privacy interests in a home require stricter controls on post-arrest searches in these settings, and that a stricter standard was required for searches incident to arrests that occurred within homes. Not all of the protections we had advocated for, however, were incorporated into the majority\u2019s decision. Specifically, the requirement of imminence was not incorporated into the majority\u2019s decision\u2014although it was a prominent feature in the dissenting reasons.<\/p>\n

A warrantless search is presumptively unreasonable and unconstitutional. While there are exceptions\u202fto this rule, the CCLA believes that instances where police are given the power to search without judicial authorization remain just that\u2014exceptional. In this case, the police had arrested and handcuffed the accused before they searched the house. They did not have any specific reasons to think that their safety was at risk.\u202fThey searched the home regardless.<\/p>\n

Individuals have a high expectation of privacy in their homes. Giving the police the authority to search a person\u2019s home, without a warrant, based on a vague safety concern,\u202fgives rise to significant privacy concerns. As\u202fstated by the dissent at the Court of Appeal, permitting the police to search\u202fin\u202fa case such as this\u202f\u201chas the potential to provide the police with a broad\u202flicense\u202fto undertake warrantless searches.\u201d<\/p>\n

We will be following the application of this case to see how the standard is interpreted by the courts, and whether it meaningfully restrains warrantless searches of people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n

Many thanks\u202fto\u202four\u202fpro bono counsel, Anil K. Kapoor and Victoria M.\u202fCichalewska,\u202ffor\u202frepresenting the CCLA\u202fin the\u202fcase.<\/p>\n