Welcome to Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t! This week, lawyer Kyla Lee discusses search and seizure.
Acumen Law Corporation lawyer Kyla Lee gives her take on a made-in-Canada court case each week and discusses why these cases should have been heard by Canada’s highest court: the Supreme Court of Canada.
Romeo Serbas was charged after a 9-1-1 call that was falsely made where an incident was reported at his residence before the caller hung up. The police investigated, Mr. Serban invited the police into his home and while they were there they noted that he had a firearm and a smell of cannabis in his home.
He was arrested for the possession of cannabis, a search of his residence took place and the police discovered that he had a marijuana grow operation.
In his case, Mr. Serban argued that there’s a tension between two Supreme Court of Canada decisions. One that says if police are investigating a disconnected 9-1-1 call, they have the power to enter the residence to make sure that nobody is injured or in distress. Another says that if police are greeted at the door and told that everything is fine, they exceed their authority if they push their way in.
Unfortunately, the SCC declined the opportunity to hear this case and to resolve the tension between those two lines of authority.
Watch the video for more.
