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Document:
1989: November 1; 1990: February 1.
Present: Lamer, La Forest, L'Heureux‑Dubé, Sopinka, Gonthier, Cory and McLachlin JJ.
Criminal law ‑‑ Assault ‑‑ Searches ‑‑ Police officers accused of assault for having searched respondent after his arrest ‑‑ Whether search of respondent justified ‑‑ Existence and scope of police power to search a person who has been lawfully arrested ‑‑ Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. 34, s. 245(b).
Criminal law ‑‑ Police powers ‑‑ Search incidental to an arrest ‑‑ Existence and scope of police power to search a person who has been lawfully arrested.
Criminal law ‑‑ Appeals before appellate court ‑‑ Question of law ‑‑ Legality of search carried out at time of arrest ‑‑ Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. C‑34, s. 771(1)(a).
This appeal raises the question of the existence and scope of the power of the police to search a person who has been lawfully arrested. The appellants, both officers with the Montréal Urban Community Police Department, stopped the vehicle driven by the respondent after the latter had violated a municipal by‑law. They proceeded to arrest him upon being informed by police headquarters that a warrant of committal for unpaid traffic fines had been issued against him in Municipal Court. Highly agitated and abusive, the respondent accompanied the officers to their car, where they carried out a "frisk" search: with the respondent's hands on the hood of the car and his legs spread, the officers patted him down. The respondent was then taken to the police station, where he filed an information against each of the police officers for common assault. At trial, the respondent argued that the police officers were not authorized to search him and that the search was an assault within the meaning of s. 245 (b) of the Criminal Code . The Summary Convictions Court judge dismissed the informations and this judgment was upheld by the Superior Court. The Court of Appeal in a majority judgment allowed the respondent's appeal and entered a verdict of guilty. Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was not invoked by the parties.
Determining the legality of the search in this case is strictly a question of law within the meaning of s. 771(1) (a) of the Criminal Code . The resolution of the dispute as to the basis of the power to carry out a search after an arrest is not dependent on the facts, since it concerns the exact scope of the legal rule.
At common law a police officer may carry out a "frisk" search of a person who has been lawfully arrested and the existence of reasonable and probable grounds is not a prerequisite to the existence of such a power. A "frisk" search incidental to a lawful arrest reconciles the public's interest in the effective and safe enforcement of the law and its interest in ensuring the freedom and dignity of individuals since it constitutes a minimal intrusion on individual rights which is necessary to ensure that criminal justice is properly administered.
The exercise of the power to search is not however unlimited. First, this power does not impose a duty. The police have some discretion and, if satisfied that the law can be effectively and safely applied, they may see fit not to conduct a search. They must also be in a position to assess the circumstances of each case so as to determine whether a search meets the underlying objectives forming the basis of the right to search. Second, as regards these objectives, the search must be for a valid objective in pursuit of the ends of criminal justice ‑‑ such as the discovery of an object that may be a threat to the safety of the police, the accused or the public, or that may facilitate escape or act as evidence against the accused ‑‑ and the purpose of the search must not be unrelated to the objectives of the proper administration of justice. Third, the search must not be conducted in an abusive fashion, and in particular, the use of physical or psychological constraint should be proportionate to the objectives sought and the other circumstances of the situation. A search which does not meet these objectives could be characterized as unreasonable and unjustified at common law.
In this case, the frisk search of the respondent was justified. The evidence showed that the police carried out the search taking into account all the circumstances and the desired objectives, that they searched the respondent in pursuit of a valid objective, i.e., police safety in making a lawful arrest, and that the search was conducted without excessive constraint. Therefore the Summary Convictions Court judge made no error in dismissing the informations for assault brought against the appellants.
Applied: R. v. Morrison (1987), 20 O.A.C. 230; R. v. Miller (1987), 38 C.C.C. (3d) 252; R. v. Brezack (1949), 96 C.C.C. 97; referred to: Bessell v. Wilson (1853), 1 El. & Bl. 489, 118 E.R. 518, 17 J.P. 52; Leigh v. Cole (1853), 6 Cox C.C. 329; R. v. Barnett (1829), 3 Car. & P. 600, 172 E.R. 563, R. v. Jones (1834), 6 Car. & P. 343, 172 E.R. 1269; R. v. Kinsey (1836), 7 Car. & P. 447, 173 E.R. 198; R. v. O'Donnell (1835), 7 Car. & P. 138, 173 E.R. 61; Dillon v. O'Brien (1887), 16 Cox C.C. 245; R. v. Lushington,  1 Q.B. 420; Elias v. Pasmore,  2 K.B. 164; R. v. Naylor,  Crim. L.R. 532; Lindley v. Rutter,  Q.B. 128; Brazil v. Chief Constable of Surrey,  3 All E.R. 537; United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973); Gustafson v. Florida, 414 U.S. 260 (1973); Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914); Spalding v. Preston, 21 Vt. 9 (1848); Closson v. Morrison, 47 N.H. 482 (1867); Michigan v. DeFillippo, 443 U.S. 31 (1979); New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (1981); Gottschalk v. Hutton (1921), 66 D.L.R. 499; R. v. McDonald (1932), 59 C.C.C. 56; Gordon v. Denison (1895), 22 O.A.R. 315; Yakimishyn v. Bileski (1946), 86 C.C.C. 179; Welch v. Gilmour (1955), 111 C.C.C. 221; Laporte v. Laganière (1972), 18 C.R.N.S. 357; Reynen v. Antonenko (1975), 20 C.C.C. (2d) 342; R. v. Rao (1984), 12 C.C.C. (3d) 97; R. v. Rousseau,  R.L. 108; R. v. Lerke (1986), 43 Alta. L.R. (2d) 1; R. v. Beare,  2 S.C.R. 387; R. v. Debot,  2 S.C.R. 1140; Eccles v. Bourque,  2 S.C.R. 739; Dedman v. The Queen,  2 S.C.R. 2; R. v. Landry,  1 S.C.R. 145; Semayne's Case (1604), 5 Co. Rep. 91a, 77 E.R. 194; Eleko v. Officer Administering the Government of Nigeria,  A.C. 662; R. v. Morgentaler,  1 S.C.R. 30; RWDSU c. Dolphin Delivery Ltd.,  2 S.C.R. 573; R. v. Collins,  1 S.C.R. 265; R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.,  1 S.C.R. 295.
Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. C‑34, ss. 25, 29, 245(b) [rep. & sub. 1972, c. 13, s. 21; am. 1974‑75‑76, c. 93, s. 22; 1980‑81‑82‑83, c. 125, s. 19], 744, 771(1)(a).
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (U.K.), 1984, c. 60, s. 32.
Archibald, Bruce P. "The Law of Arrest". In Vincent M. Del Buono, ed., Criminal Procedure in Canada. Toronto: Butterworths, 1982.
Béliveau, Pierre, Jacques Bellemare and Jean‑Pierre Lussier. On Criminal Procedure, Montreal: Éditions Yvon Blais Inc., 1982.
Canada. Law Reform Commission. Report 32. Our Criminal Procedure. Ottawa: Law Reform Commission, 1988.
Feldman, David. The Law Relating to Entry, Search and Seizure. London: Butterworths, 1986.
Hampton, Celia. Criminal Procedure, 3rd ed. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1982.
LaFave, Wayne R. Search and Seizure, 2nd ed., vol. 2. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1987.
Leigh, L. H. Police Powers in England and Wales. London: Butterworths, 1975.
McCalla, Winston. Search and Seizure in Canada. Aurora, Ont.: Canada Law Book Inc., 1984.
Paikin, Lee. "The Standard of "Reasonableness" in the Law of Search and Seizure". In Vincent M. Del Buono, ed., Criminal Procedure in Canada. Toronto: Butterworths, 1982.
Robilliard, St John Anthony and Jenny McEwan. Police Powers and the Individual. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986.
Salhany, Roger E. The Police Manual of Arrest, Seizure and Interrogation, 3rd ed. Toronto: Carswells, 1986.
Wharton's Criminal Procedure, 12th ed., vol. 1. By Charles E. Torcia. Rochester, N.Y.: Lawyers Co‑operative Publishing Ltd., 1974.
Whitebread, Charles H. Criminal Procedure: An analysis of Constitutional Cases and Concepts. Mineola, N.Y.: Foundation Press, 1980.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal,  R.J.Q. 1479, 7 Q.A.C. 169, allowing an appeal by respondent from a judgment of the Superior Court, dismissing respondent's appeal from the acquittals of the appellants pronounced by a judge of the Court of Sessions of the Peace, on informations for common assault laid by respondent. Appeal allowed.
Richard Mongeau and Guy Lafrance, for the appellants.
L'HEUREUX‑DUBÉ J. -- This appeal raises squarely, for the first time in this Court the question of the existence and scope of the power of the police to search a person who has been lawfully arrested.
The facts out of which this issue arose are not in dispute and may be summarized as follows. The appellants Langlois and Bédard are constables employed by the police department of the Montréal Urban Community. The respondent Cloutier is a lawyer practising in that city. On November 3, 1983, early in the evening, the respondent made a right turn from the centre lane of St‑Denis Street in Montréal. In so doing, the respondent's vehicle passed directly in front of a police vehicle parked at the street corner. The constables decided that the respondent's turn was in breach of a municipal by‑law, stopped him and asked for his driver's licence and other documents for identification purposes. As conceded by the respondent in this Court, [TRANSLATION] "the tone became somewhat heated" during this exchange.
While constable Langlois was writing up a notice of violation, officer Bédard learned by radio contact with police headquarters that a warrant of committal had been issued against the respondent in the Municipal Court for unpaid traffic fines. The constables informed the respondent and asked him to accompany them to the police station. When they asked the respondent to get into the patrol car, the constables carried out a "frisk" search: the hands of the accused were placed on the hood of the car, his legs spread and the constables patted him down. The respondent was then taken to the police station.
Subsequent to these events the respondent, relying on the provisions of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1970, c. C‑34, dealing with summary convictions, filed an information against each of the police officers for common assault, contrary to s. 245 (b) of the Criminal Code .
The primary allegation made by the respondent in his pleading was that the arrest was illegal, since the police officers had no power to arrest him unless they had actual possession of the arrest warrant issued by the Municipal Court. The respondent also argued incidentally that the police officers were not authorized to search him. He contended that the arrest and the search constituted assaults within the meaning of the Criminal Code . However, in the course of events, the respondent's incidental submission became his principal argument.
Judge Choquette dismissed the informations laid against each of the two constables. First, he found that the arrest was lawful in light of ss. 25 and 29 of the Criminal Code , even though the police did not have in their possession at the time of the search the arrest warrant issued by the Municipal Court. The judge further concluded that the Canadian law on the subject granted to the police officers the power to search a lawfully arrested person. He added that in the case at bar the constables had reasonable grounds to conduct the search and the force used was neither excessive nor disproportionate. Though it is not clear from the reasons of Judge Choquette, it appears that he relied on the common law, not s. 25 of the Criminal Code , in concluding that a defence existed against the information for assault.
Barrette‑Joncas J., who heard the appeal brought by the respondent, dismissed it on the ground that the trial judge had committed no manifest error.
[TRANSLATION] Although opinion is divided it seems to be generally accepted that there is no common law right to automatically search a person who has been arrested [Del Buono, Procédure pénale au Canada (1983), at p. 180, note 136]. The right only exists if the circumstances make such a search necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent escape or the commission of another offence by the person arrested. It is clear in the case at bar that the respondents could not rely on any of these grounds as reasonable or probable. Cloutier was arrested only because he had failed to pay a fine imposed "for a traffic offence".
In my view, s. 25 Cr. C. did not protect the respondents. Though the force they used in searching Cloutier was minimal, they were guilty of assault.
The reasonableness of a search made as an incident to a lawful arrest is, of course, a function of all the circumstances that existed at the time of the arrest. Often enough, these decisions must be made in difficult circumstances and with little time for reflection. For this reason, while police officers have no automatic right to conduct a personal search on making an arrest, I believe they must be accorded some latitude in deciding whether or not it would be prudent to search and, if so, the nature of the search that should be done.
In my respectful opinion, the personal search conducted by the police officers may have been unnecessary but, in the circumstances, it was not unreasonable.
The Court of Appeal accordingly appears to have unanimously held that at common law, in Canada, the power to search a person lawfully arrested is not incidental to the arrest but requires the existence of reasonable grounds, which in turn depends on the circumstances of the particular case, circumstances which the majority and the dissenting judge interpreted differently. This Court granted leave to appeal in order to determine the existence and scope of the police power of search at the time of a lawful arrest.
Besides the legality of the search, the parties raised two other issues, namely the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal and costs.
As to the legality of the search, the appellants contend that if the power to search is not expressly conferred by specific legislation such power has its origin in common law. The appellants submit that, at the time of arrest, the police may make a [TRANSLATION] "related or incidental" search of the individual, for safety reasons, in order to transport the person arrested or to preserve evidence, provided of course that the search is not wrongful in the circumstances.
So far as jurisdiction is concerned, the appellants argue that the legality of the search is a mixed question of law and fact. They submit that the Court of Appeal had undertaken a reassessment of the facts, though leave to appeal was granted on questions of law only, in accordance with s. 771(1) (a) of the Criminal Code .
The respondent, who represented himself throughout the proceedings, did not file a brief in this Court and confined his oral argument to the legality of the search. He contended that the power to search is not automatic but instead depends upon the existence of reasonable grounds, especially in cases where the arrest is made in connection with a penal rather than criminal offence. In his view, the search seriously compromised his human integrity and dignity. He added that the search, which occurred in public, in the neighbourhood where he lives and practices his profession, had an adverse effect on his professional reputation.
In the event that the appeal is allowed however, the respondent asked not to be ordered to pay costs. He stated that he brought the action [TRANSLATION] "for the sake of human justice and freedom, not through any desire for vengeance or in bad faith".
Neither of the parties pleaded s. 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms .
I do not think that it is necessary to deal with this matter at any length. The respondent's principal argument was not that the search was wrongful in the circumstances, but rather that there was no legal basis for it. Precedent and scholarly opinion are not unanimous as to the basis of the power to search. According to one view, the power to carry out a search flows automatically from the arrest of an individual, while another view feels that the existence of reasonable grounds is a prerequisite. The resolution of this dispute is not dependent on the facts, since it concerns the exact scope of the legal rule, a rule essentially derived from a series of common law precedents. In this context, determining the legality of the search seems to me to be strictly a question of law within the meaning of s. 771(1) (a) of the Criminal Code . The appellants' argument therefore fails.
In the absence of any specific Canadian legislation, it is necessary to review the origin and evolution of the common law rule. It will also be instructive in my view to see how the rule, originally developed by the English courts, has been treated in the U.S., whose law is also derived from the common law and whose criminal procedure is, in many areas, similar to that applicable in Canada.
He was apprehended by the police force for the city of London, and, upon being put into custody, was searched; which, it was stated, was the invariable practice of the city police. Lord Campbell C.J., upon the motion for the rule mentioned in the text, very strongly reprobated the application of the practice to such a case.
In Williams J.'s mind, the power to search a lawfully arrested person does not flow automatically from the fact of the arrest.
In another series of cases, it was held that police officers are authorized to seize from a lawfully arrested person evidence that can be used against that person. These cases are relevant in as much as the power to seize imports that of search.
In that case, the plaintiff was apprehended under an arrest warrant issued in connection with the commission of an offence punishable on summary conviction. Palles C.B., speaking for the court, dismissed the civil action and observed that the common law authorized the seizure of evidence in such a case. The judgment is silent however as to the requirement of grounds in order to seize the plaintiff's money and documents. It does not appear, at least at this stage in the evolution of the common law, that reasonable grounds had to exist. Rather, the opposite would appear from Dillon v. O'Brien.
In this country I take it that it is undoubted law that it is within the power of, and is the duty of, constables to retain for use in Court things which may be evidences of crime, and which have come into the possession of the constables without wrong on their part.
As to the right to search on arrest. This right seems to be clearly established by the footnote to Bessell v. Wilson in the report in the Law Times, where Lord Campbell clearly lays down that this right exists, but this right does not seem to me to authorize what was done in this case, namely, to seize and take away large quantities of documents and other property found on premises occupied by persons other than the person of whom the arrest was made.
It is the duty of the courts to be ever zealous to protect the personal freedom, privacy and dignity of all who live in these islands. Any claim to be entitled to take action which infringes these rights is to be examined with great care. But such rights are not absolute. They have to be weighed against the rights and duties of police officers, acting on behalf of society as a whole. It is the duty of any constable who lawfully has a prisoner in his charge to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the prisoner does not escape or assist others to do so, does not injure himself or others, does not destroy or dispose of evidence and does not commit further crime such as, for example, malicious damage to property. This list is not exhaustive, but it is sufficient for present purposes. What measures are reasonable in the discharge of this duty will depend upon the likelihood that the particular prisoner will do any of these things unless prevented. That in turn will involve the constable in considering the known or apparent disposition and sobriety of the prisoner. What can never be justified is the adoption of any particular measures without regard to all the circumstances of the particular case.
. . . a search would have been justified if, bearing in mind the defendant's condition, including her reaction to being in custody, W.P.C. Fry or the station officer had had any reason for thinking that the defendant might have some object on her with which she might accidentally or intentionally injure herself or others.
The "some evidence" standard applied by Donaldson L.J. is a considerably different threshold than that of "reasonable grounds". This is significant in view of the seriousness of the invasion of human dignity which occurred in Lindley, as compared to the "frisk" search which occurred in the case before us.
A constable has a common law power to search a person on arrest and to take into custody articles in possession of the prisoner which the constable believes to be connected with the offence charged, or which may be used in evidence against him, or which may give a clue to the commission of the crime or the identification of the criminal, or any weapon or implement which might enable the prisoner to commit an act of violence or effect his escape.
The police have further powers at common law. Firstly, they may search a person who has been lawfully arrested and they may take and keep any property found in his possession which may form material evidence of the offence for which he is arrested or of any other serious offence which they reasonably believe he has committed.
See also the discussion by D. Feldman, The Law Relating to Entry, Search and Seizure (1986), at pp. 227-48.
The scope of the common law rule has lost much of its importance in England since the adoption of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (U.K.), 1984, c. 60. In particular, s. 32 authorizes the search of a lawfully arrested person if "the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others" (s. 32(1)) or reasonable grounds for believing that the person has anything on him which he might use to escape or which might be evidence (s. 32(1) and (5)).
The appellants based their argument in part on the U.S. rule, which reached its zenith in United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973), and Gustafson v. Florida, 414 U.S. 260 (1973). In the United States the power to search is recognized as being incidental to arrest and the police are not required to have reasonable grounds for searching a lawfully arrested person.
Similarly, in Gustafson the majority clearly established that it was not necessary for the police to believe on reasonable grounds that their safety was threatened prior to searching the person arrested for weapons.
These two cases were subsequently followed by the Supreme Court in Michigan v. DeFillippo, 443 U.S. 31 (1979), at p. 35, and in New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (1981), at p. 461.
The conclusions that emerge from this line of authority have been commented on and accepted in scholarly analysis recognizing that a power of search exists as an incident of arrest: Wharton's Criminal Procedure (12th ed. 1984), vol. 1, No. 180, at pp. 363‑73, and C. H. Whitebread, Criminal Procedure (1980), at p. 133. The only controversy in the U.S. concerns the extent of this power: W. R. LaFave, Search and Seizure (2nd ed. 1987), vol. 2, No. 5.2.
However, U.S. law is of limited assistance since Canadian public law is derived primarily from British common law, which, in the absence of specific legislation or modification by our courts, continues to be relevant.
Having completed this review of relevant British and American authorities I now turn to the law as it has been recognized and developed in Canada.
Canadian courts have sometimes thought it useful to consider the U.S. rule in their analysis of the power to search a lawfully arrested person: Gottschalk v. Hutton (1921), 66 D.L.R. 499 (Alta. S.C., App. Div.); R. v. McDonald (1932), 59 C.C.C. 56 (Alta. S.C., App. Div.); R. v. Morrison (1987), 20 O.A.C. 230 and R. v. Miller (1987), 38 C.C.C. (3d) 252 (Ont. C.A.) However, the Canadian courts have more often turned to British common law in this area.
Leigh v. Cole, supra, was considered in Canada for the first time in Gordon v. Denison (1895), 22 O.A.R. 315. Though dissenting on another point, MacLennan J.A. noted about Leigh that "there can be no question of its correctness" (p. 327).
The British case Leigh v. Cole was again applied in Canadian case law in Yakimishyn v. Bileski (1946), 86 C.C.C. 179 (Man. K.B.) which stated (at p. 181): "It is well established that when a prisoner is in custody the right to search his person exists". In Yakimishyn, a prisoner was searched when he arrived at the penitentiary and his money was seized. The court held that a creditor of the prisoner had no right to the money. I note here that in Welch v. Gilmour (1955), 111 C.C.C. 221 (B.C.S.C.), the principles put forward in Yakimishyn were approved.
These comments are all the more forceful as they were made in connection with a considerably more intensive search than that conducted in the case at bar.
The legality of a search at the time of an arrest was again the subject of a judgment in Laporte v. Laganière (1972), 18 C.R.N.S. 357 (Que. S.C.) Hugessen J. noted that the power to search could not be extended so as to authorize surgery several months after the arrest to obtain a bullet lodged in the body of the arrested person. On the other hand, in Reynen v. Antonenko (1975), 20 C.C.C. (2d) 342 (Alta. S.C.), it was held that, in the circumstances, the right of search authorized a rectal search of the accused.
Though that case involved the power to search the premises where the arrest was made, which is not the case here, these comments are relevant in so far as they discuss the existence of the right to search a lawfully arrested person.
At common law, as incident to a lawful arrest, an officer has the right to search the person arrested. The proposition is an old one and has never been seriously challenged.
Morrison rejected in the clearest possible terms the theory that reasonable grounds are a prerequisite to the existence of the power to search a lawfully arrested person. This case was recently applied by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Miller, supra.
It should be observed that the common law permitted a number of other, in my view more serious, intrusions on the dignity of an individual or persons in custody in the interest of law enforcement. As an incident to a lawful arrest, a peace officer has a right to search the person arrested and to take any property the officer reasonably believes is connected with the offence charged, or any weapon found upon such person; see R. v. Morrison (1987), 20 O.A.C. 230. This authority is based on the need to disarm an accused and to discover evidence. In the course of custodial arrest an accused may be stripped.
Also, in R. v. Debot,  2 S.C.R. 1140, Lamer J. assumed that "[t]he right to search incident to arrest derives from the fact of arrest or detention of the person" (p. 1146).
It is generally accepted that there is no common law right to search automatically a person who has been arrested and the Criminal Code makes no mention of such authority. On the other hand, the common law has consistently allowed searches of the person incident to arrest where the arresting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect may have concealed upon his person articles which may afford evidence with respect to an offence, weapons, or other objects which may enable the suspect to commit acts of violence or effect an escape.
Canadian jurisprudence, while citing and adhering in principle to English authorities, has been deferential in practice to police interests in this regard. No modern reported Canadian case has invalidated a search performed incidental to arrest, although in one instance the attempted seizure of a prisoner's property unconnected to the offence has been held to be wrongful.
The power to search incidental to arrest is firmly established at common law. It was never based on any express or specific authority other than the view that the power was a natural or assumed adjunct to the officer's control over the suspect. This has been attributed in part to the traditional tolerance of intrusive acts upon the person of an arrested individual.
Nor is there recognized under Canadian law or the common law of England the right to search automatically someone who has been arrested. The right to search someone is permitted only as an incident to an arrest. The purpose must be to locate further evidence relating to the charge upon which he has been arrested or to locate any item which might assist the accused to escape from custody (such as a gun or a knife) or permit him to cause any violence . . . .
In other words, the police have no right to search a person merely because that person has been arrested for a criminal offence. The search must have a purpose and such purpose must be founded upon a belief based on reasonable and probable grounds.
In general, despite certain comments in scholarly discussion, it seems beyond question that the common law as recognized and developed in Canada holds that the police have a power to search a lawfully arrested person and to seize anything in his or her possession or immediate surroundings to guarantee the safety of the police and the accused, prevent the prisoner's escape or provide evidence against him. The common thread in this line of authority is the objective of guaranteeing safety and applying the law effectively. While the existence of the power is accepted, there seems to be some uncertainty as to its scope. While at common law the British courts did not impose reasonable grounds as a prerequisite to the power to search a person lawfully arrested, neither have they gone so far as to recognize a power to search as a simple corollary of arrest. The Canadian courts on the other hand do not seem to have hesitated in adopting this latter approach.
It is therefore necessary in this second stage to determine whether an invasion of individual rights is necessary in order for the peace officers to perform their duty, and whether such an invasion is reasonable in light of the public purposes served by effective control of criminal acts on the one hand and on the other respect for the liberty and fundamental dignity of individuals.
Having stated these premises, I now turn to considering the power of search at the time of a lawful arrest.
As we have seen, the power to search a lawfully arrested person has its roots deep in the common law. In fact, at common law the police power of search extended to encompass a search of the surroundings of the arrest location and the seizure of anything they found there. The precedents I have referred to make it unnecessary to consider this aspect at greater length. What must be determined, rather, is the extent to which the competing interests in the context of a lawful arrest justify a search as an incident of the arrest.
. . . the interest of the State in the person charged being brought to trial in due course necessarily extends, as well to the preservation of material evidence of his guilt or innocence, as to his custody for the purpose of trial. His custody is of no value if the law is powerless to prevent the abstraction or destruction of this evidence, without which a trial would be no more than an empty form.
However, while the common law gives the police the powers necessary for the effective and safe application of the law, it does not allow them to place themselves above the law and use their powers to intimidate citizens. This is where the protection of privacy and of individual freedoms becomes very important.
For centuries the common law has spearheaded the protection of individual freedoms. The concept that a person and his home are inviolable has been gradually set up in the face of the potential abuse of power by the State. In the early seventeenth century the common law had already held "[t]hat the house of everyone is to him as his castle and fortress" (Semayne's Case (1604), 5 Co. Rep. 91a, 77 E.R. 194). Similarly, an invisible "fortress" was built bit by bit around each subject of the Empire and gradually any interference with individual freedom was seen as prima facie unlawful, the representatives of the State having the burden of establishing a legal basis for their actions: "no member of the executive can interfere with the liberty or property of a British subject except on the condition that he can support the legality of his action before a court of justice" (Eleko v. Officer Administering the Government of Nigeria,  A.C. 662 (P.C.), at p. 670). This fundamental role of guardian of freedom and property continued and expanded with the advent of the Charter (R. v. Morgentaler,  1 S.C.R. 30, at p. 164, per Wilson J.): "Thus, the rights guaranteed in the Charter erect around each individual, metaphorically speaking, an invisible fence over which the state will not be allowed to trespass. The role of the courts is to map out, piece by piece, the parameters of the fence".
Freedom can primarily be characterized by the absence of coercion or constraint. If a person is compelled by the state or the will of another to a course of action or inaction which he would not otherwise have chosen, he is not acting of his own volition and he cannot be said to be truly free. One of the major purposes of the Charter is to protect, within reason, from compulsion or restraint.
In order to safeguard freedom it is sometimes necessary to limit it, through prohibitions. However, if human dignity, freedom and justice are among the major values which the criminal law enshrines, we must carefully assess the way in which the law is enforced in order to ensure that our law and practices respect and do not undermine these values.
On one hand, it is clear that the police ought to be fully protected in the discharge of an onerous, arduous, and difficult duty -- a duty necessary for the comfort and security of the community. On the other hand, it is equally incumbent on every one engaged in the administration of justice, to take care that the powers necessarily entrusted to the police are not made an instrument of oppression or of tyranny towards even the meanest, most depraved, and basest subjects of the realm.
In this regard a "frisk" search is a relatively non-intrusive procedure: outside clothing is patted down to determine whether there is anything on the person of the arrested individual. Pockets may be examined but the clothing is not removed and no physical force is applied. The duration of the search is only a few seconds. Though the search, if conducted, is in addition to the arrest, which generally entails a considerably longer and more sustained loss of freedom and dignity, a brief search does not constitute, in view of the objectives sought, a disproportionate interference with the freedom of persons lawfully arrested. There exists no less intrusive means of attaining these objectives.
A "frisk" search incidental to a lawful arrest reconciles the public's interest in the effective and safe enforcement of the law on the one hand, and on the other its interest in ensuring the freedom and dignity of individuals. The minimal intrusion involved in the search is necessary to ensure that criminal justice is properly administered. I agree with the opinion of the Ontario Court of Appeal as stated in Brezack, Morrison and Miller, supra, that the existence of reasonable and probable grounds is not a prerequisite to the existence of a police power to search. The exercise of this power is not however unlimited. Three propositions can be derived from the authorities and a consideration of the underlying interests.
1. This power does not impose a duty. The police have some discretion in conducting the search. Where they are satisfied that the law can be effectively and safely applied without a search, the police may see fit not to conduct a search. They must be in a position to assess the circumstances of each case so as to determine whether a search meets the underlying objectives.
2. The search must be for a valid objective in pursuit of the ends of criminal justice, such as the discovery of an object that may be a threat to the safety of the police, the accused or the public, or that may facilitate escape or act as evidence against the accused. The purpose of the search must not be unrelated to the objectives of the proper administration of justice, which would be the case for example if the purpose of the search was to intimidate, ridicule or pressure the accused in order to obtain admissions.
3. The search must not be conducted in an abusive fashion and in particular, the use of physical or psychological constraint should be proportionate to the objectives sought and the other circumstances of the situation.
A search which does not meet these objectives could be characterized as unreasonable and unjustified at common law.
That is the background against which the Court must examine the facts of this case to determine whether the "frisk" search conducted by the appellants constituted an assault. Needless to say, if the search in question is justified at common law it cannot possibly constitute criminal conduct, more particularly, assault.
It should be noted that all the Quebec courts have approached the evidence in this case on the basis that a "frisk" search is not necessarily incidental to a lawful arrest, but instead, depends on the existence of reasonable grounds.
[TRANSLATION] Considering the circumstances of the case as a whole, the court feels that the police definitely had reasonable grounds that would justify them in lawfully making the arrest and search of the complainant, and that in view of the insults heaped on them by Mr. Cloutier they acted courteously.
As regards the force used to do this, it does not seem excessive or disproportionate in view of the events. The accused made a "frisk" search of the complainant using no excessive violence or force.
Barrette-Joncas J. of the Superior Court came to the same conclusion. Rothman J.A., dissenting in the Court of Appeal, took a similar view and accepted the trial judge's findings of fact and the conclusions drawn by him. The majority of the judges in the Court of Appeal seem to have taken a stricter approach to the facts. They concluded, contrary to the finding of the trial judge, that reasonable and probable grounds did not exist.
Q. So now, Constable Bédard, what happened? You told Mr. Cloutier -- there was an exchange, which you have just described to the court -- what happened then?
A. Mr. Cloutier, after being told at least three times, got out of his car and voluntarily went with us to the radio car; then at that point, we before . . . putting in anyone who has been arrested, whether for a traffic ticket or something else, in our radio car -- I don't know this guy, he could be anyone, he can say he is anything he wants, I don't want to say anything, it is nothing personal, but he is someone who perhaps may take the law into his own hands because he hates the police, he may turn on me inside the car, so for my own safety . . .
A. For . . . we search him.
Q. So, you search him?
Q. Yes . . .
Looking at the matter now, it would not be difficult to conclude that the police officers did not have any real reason to fear physical violence from Mr. Cloutier. But, on the evidence, it is clear that he was highly agitated and verbally abusive. The conclusion of the trial judge that it was Cloutier's conduct that made the situation as tense as it became is amply supported by the evidence.
Third, as to the way in which the search was conducted, as already noted, it is not disputed that in the circumstances, the police did not use either excessive force or constraint.
Furthermore, the fact that there existed a general directive in the police department to search an arrested suspect for any weapon or object potentially dangerous to the policemen has no bearing on this case, since the evidence of the police officers who conducted the search was that they exercised their independent discretion taking into account all the circumstances of this case.
I accordingly consider that, as an incident to the lawful arrest of the respondent, the frisk search was justified, and accordingly Judge Choquette made no error in dismissing the informations for assault brought against the appellants. This is sufficient to dispose of the appeal.
On the question of costs, the Summary Convictions Court may in its discretion order the payment of the defendant's costs against the informant when the information is dismissed (s. 744 of the Criminal Code ). In the case at bar none of the Quebec courts applied this provision. Therefore each party paid its own costs in the lower courts. The appellants did not argue strongly on this point. In the circumstances, I feel it is proper not to award costs.
For all these reasons, I would allow the appeal and restore the verdict of acquittal, the whole without costs in any court.
Solicitors for the appellants: Mongeau, Gouin, Roy, Montréal.
Solicitor for the respondent: Pierre Cloutier, Montréal.
 S.C. Mtl., No. 500-36-000221-849, December 7, 1984.
 C.S.P. Mtl., No. 12939-838 and 12940-836, May 22, 1984.

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