Stuart O'Connell Criminal Law Blog

  The opportunity to consult counsel in private is a vital component of the s.10(b) right. R. v. Playford  (1987), 63 O.R. (2d) 289 (Ont. C.A.) at para 31;  R. v. McKane  (1987), 35 C.C.C. (3d) 481 (Ont. C.A.) at p. 134. Once an accused has requested that he be permitted to consult counsel, that carries with it, to the knowledge of the police, a right to have the consultation in private, so far as circumstances permit. R. v. Doherty   (1974), 1974 CanLII 1531 (NS CA).   In R. v. Pileggi , 2021 ONCA 4 , the accused was arrested at his home during the execution of a search warrant.   The accused’s right to consult counsel in private would have been compromised had the police attempted to facilitate contact at the house while a search of the house was underway. In such circumstances it was not a breach of s. 10(b) of the Charter for the police to transport the accused to the police station before implementing his contact with coun...

Section 10(b) of the Charter guarantees to anyone arrested or detained the right “to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right”. Section 10(b) obliges the police to advise a detained person of the right to speak with counsel without delay and, if the detained person exercises that right, the police must immediately provide the detainee with a reasonable opportunity to speak to counsel. The section 10(b) Charter right to consult counsel without delay exists because those who are arrested or detained are apt to require immediate legal advice that they cannot access without help, because of their detention.   R. v. Bartle , [1994] 3 S.C.R. 173, at p. 191; R v. Suberu , 2009 SCC 33, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 460, at para. 41. The right to counsel is a lifeline for detained persons. Through that lifeline, detained persons obtain, not only legal advice and guidance about the procedures to which they will be subjected, but also the sense that...