Difference between revisions of "Charter Rights: Legal Rights"

In some cases, the police are not clear about a person’s obligation to answer questions: if there’s uncertainty, you should ask the officer if you must answer the questions. In some cases, refusing to identify yourself to the police will create problems. For example, if you won’t identify yourself and do not have identity documents, the police might detain you to learn your true identity. Some lawyers recommend giving your name and date of birth but nothing more, unless the officer says you have a legal duty to give more information.

Section 8 gives everyone the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. Section 8 controls the laws that allow police to search your home or place of business, your phone or computer, your car, or even you, in certain cases. It also controls the actions of individual police officers. Section 8 protects your property or information if you have a reasonable expectation of privacy. So before police can search or seize, they must have a good reason to do so. For example, if the police suspect that you have stolen TVs and cell phones, they cannot just enter your apartment and search you and your rooms. Such a search would usually be unjustified if the police do not have a search warrant from a judge or justice of the peace. And even if they did have a warrant, it might not be properly issued. These are examples of searches that would be unreasonable and thus violate section 8. But section 8 does not protect your privacy in all cases. It depends on the context. Courts focus on the person’s expectation of privacy in the place, thing, or information at issue. For example, if you leave property at a friend’s house or put garbage out on the sidewalk for pick-up, you don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in those places. On the other hand, if you password-protect your personal computer at your home, you have a strong expectation of privacy.