The Car Ride to the Police Station
In R. v. Liew and Yu, 2012 ONSC 1826, the Superior Court of Ontario considered
the question of whether an attempt on the part of the police to establish a
rapport with the accused on the car ride to the police station breached the
accused’s section 10(b) right. The
accused had been informed of his right to counsel upon arrest, but had not yet
had access to counsel.
The Court held that the
attempt on the part of the police to establish a rapport with the accused on
the car ride to the police station was the initial stage of an interviewing
technique employed by police (akin to the Reid
Technique, which involves the interviewer establishing a rapport and level of
trust with the subject, then confronting the accused about the crime). As
such, it breached the obligation on police to "hold off" questioning a
detainee until he/she has been given a reasonable opportunity to contact counsel.
R.
v. Liew and Yu, at para 75.
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