R. V. Bhatti: Warranted Police Discretion Or Bound By The Warrant?

InR. v. Bhatti,¹the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered whether police execution of a search warrant infringed an accused's right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under s. 8 of theCharter. On an appeal by the Crown, a majority of the Court of Appeal held that the police did not breach s. 8 and, even if they had, the evidence obtained should not be excluded from the accused's trial under s. 24(2). The dissenting Justice disagreed, finding the warrant was unambiguous and had been exceeded by the police in an manner that resulted in a serious breach of s. 8. The strong dissent by Pomerance J.A., along with the important issues raised (albeit in novel circumstances), suggests that the case may ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.Bhattireflects how challenges to the execution of warrants depend heavily on context — particularly how closely police conduct fits with the plan and scope originally authorized by the court. The decision