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).
common law police powers generated at the
APPEAL COURT LEVEL
Early cases decided by appeal courts centred on issues related to motor vehicles and roadside stops. As the case law grew in this area, courts such as the Ontario Court of Appeal decided cases such as R v Simpson which deliberated on whether police had the power of investigatory detention and what type of evidentiary standard of proof is required to justify the detention. This particular decision paved the way for cases such as R v Mann which built on the ruling in R v Simpson.
Appeal court level rulings have generated 34 new police powers since 1985
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R v Perley [1987] SJ No 745
Photo Credit:
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Photo from Manitoba Court of Appeal website: http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/court-of-appeal/