R. v. J.M. [Provincial Court, Calgary, September 2015]

In the early hours of the morning the police were dispatched to a check on welfare call of a person who had fallen asleep at the wheel of his vehicle at a stoplight. On arrival the police ordered J.M. out of the vehicle and, in doing so, detected the smell of marijuana, a scale, packaging materials, a significant amount of cash and multiple cell phones. J.M. was arrested for possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime. Ms. Fagan filed a detailed Charter notice alleging breaches of J.M.’s right to counsel and his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, following which all charges were completely withdrawn prior to trial.