Kwesi Morris was pulled over by the police because they wanted to verify his documentation under the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”). The police smelled fresh marijuana and so arrested Morris and searched him and the car. They found drugs and a loaded handgun in the car. Morris argued that the drugs and gun should have been tossed out as evidence by the trial judge because, according to him, the police used the HTA as a pretext for an unauthorized stop and search. The Ontario Court of Appeal disagreed: 2013 ONCA 223.New & Notable: Definitely not that "new car smell"...ONCA reiterates propriety of dual purpose stops
Kwesi Morris was pulled over by the police because they wanted to verify his documentation under the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”). The police smelled fresh marijuana and so arrested Morris and searched him and the car. They found drugs and a loaded handgun in the car. Morris argued that the drugs and gun should have been tossed out as evidence by the trial judge because, according to him, the police used the HTA as a pretext for an unauthorized stop and search. The Ontario Court of Appeal disagreed: 2013 ONCA 223.