Charter of Rights - Criminal law - Right to counsel - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that s. 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not require the police to suspend further questioning a detainee who has exercised his right to counsel prior to the interrogation but requests a second consultation during the interrogation - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that s. 10(b) of the Charter does not require the police to respect a detainee’s request to have his lawyer present during a custodial interrogation.
Sinclair was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of Garry Grice on December 18, 2003. After being arrested, he was advised of his right to counsel and was taken to the police detachment. There, he twice spoke by telephone with a lawyer of his choice, each time for approximately three minutes. He was later interviewed by Sergeant Skrine for approximately five hours, who confirmed that Sinclair had exercised his right to counsel. During the interview, Sinclair stated on five occasions that he did not want to talk to the officer, wished to speak with his lawyer again and wanted his lawyer present during the interview. However, the officer deflected the requests, advised Sinclair that he did not have the right to have his counsel present, and continued with the questioning, gradually revealing more of the evidence against Sinclair as the interview wore on. Eventually, Sinclair implicated himself in Grice’s death. Later, the police placed him into a cell with an undercover officer, where he made similar incriminating statements to that officer. Sinclair also accompanied the police to where Grice had been killed and participated in a re-enactment. A voir dire was conducted to determine the admissibility of his statements.
Keywords
Canadian charter - criminal.
Notes
(British Columbia) (Criminal) (By Leave)
Disclaimers
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