NCJ Number
80773
Date Published
1980
Length
125 pages
Annotation
Current Canadian legal standards governing the issuance of search warrants are presented and discussed.
Abstract
Section 443 of Canada's Criminal Code provides that a justice may issue a search warrant when there is 'reasonable ground' to believe that a building, receptacle, or place contains the following: (1) anything with respect to which a criminal act has been committed, (2) evidence bearing upon the commission of an offense, and (3) anything believed intended for use in an offense against a person for which a suspect may be arrested without a warrant. The process of issuing a search warrant involves three stages. The first stage is the conferment of jurisdiction upon a justice by the presentation of the prescribed form with information satisfying the requisite conditions for a legitimate search. The second stage is the justice's decision to grant the warrant, and the third stage is the issuance of the warrant for the search. Grounds for attacking a search warrant are that the justice had no jurisdiction because the information provided in the submitted form was 'incurably defective,' or that the justice misused the officer's discretionary powers. This manual examines in detail the information required for submission to the justice so that jurisdiction is validly conferred, including the disclosure of 'reasonable ground to believe.' Also considered are the principles of the use of judicial discretion in the decision about whether to grant the warrant and the legal sufficiency of the warrant's contents once it has been issued. Special powers under a Section 181 warrant (dealing with specific offenses) and the search warrant provisions under the Narcotic Control Act and the Food and Drugs Act are also examined. Sample forms, a list of cases, and 295 endnotes are presented.