From Reasonable Suspicion to Reasonable Grounds to Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Legal Burdens in Drinking and Driving Offences
In R. v. Bush , 2010 ONCA 554 (CanLII) , 259 C.C.C. (3d) 127 , at paras. 36-37, the Court of Appeal set out the statutory regime for the enforcement of drinking and driving offences and the legal burden attaching to each step: Drinking and driving prosecutions involve a continuum of findings, beginning with a reasonable suspicion the driver has alcohol in his or her body, the standard for an approved screening device (roadside) demand pursuant to s.254(2) of the Criminal Code. At the other end of the continuum, is the standard for conviction, proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the operator's ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by the consumption of alcohol or that the driver's blood alcohol concentration was over the legal limit. Between suspicion and proof beyond a reasonable doubt lies reasonable and probable grounds. Section 254(3) of the Criminal Code authorizes peace officers to demand Intoxilyzer breath samples provided the officer "has reason...