The Queen v. H.(E.) 2017 (Alberta Queen’s Bench)

The client and his girlfriend were pulled over on the Trans Canada Highway near the town of Lake Louise for not having proper mud flaps and having illegal window tints. Soon after the pull over the police officer observed some things that made him suspicious. One thing led to another and eventually the officer had his K9 dog named “Jet” conduct a sniff search of the client’s vehicle. When the dog sat to indicate the odour of drugs the client was arrested and the vehicle was searched. Hidden within a tiny tank in the back of the truck was a wholesale quantity of marihuana. The client and his girlfriend were charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking. After hearing arguments from Mr. van der Walle, the judge agreed that the client had been arbitrarily detained, illegally searched, and unlawfully deprived of his right to speak to a lawyer immediately upon detention. As a result the judge ordered that all the evidence was inadmissible on the basis of the constitutional violations. Not guilty. Client did not testify.