Christie Culotta Appellant v. Her Majesty The Queen, 2018 SCC 57

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA Citation: R. v . Culotta , 2018 SCC 57, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 597 Appeal heard: December 13, 2018 Judgment rendered: December 13, 2018 Docket: 38213 Between: Christie Culotta Appellant and Her Majesty The Queen Respondent - and - Criminal Lawyers’ Association and Canadian Civil Liberties Association Interveners Coram: Wagner C.J. and Abella, Moldaver, Rowe and Martin JJ. Reasons for Judgment: (paras. 1 to 2) Moldaver J. (Wagner C.J. and Abella, Rowe and Martin JJ. concurring) R. v . Culotta, 2018 SCC 57, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 597

Christie Culotta Appellant v. Her Majesty The Queen Respondent and Criminal Lawyers’ Association and Canadian Civil Liberties Association Interveners Indexed as: R. v . Culotta 2018 SCC 57 File No.: 38213. 2018: December 13.

Present: Wagner C.J. and Abella, Moldaver, Rowe and Martin JJ. on appeal from the court of appeal for ontario Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Search and seizure — Right to counsel — Remedy — Exclusion of evidence — Accused convicted of causing accident resulting in bodily harm while operating vessel with blood alcohol level exceeding legal limit — Trial judge finding that accused’s right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure breached when police sealed blood samples taken for medical purposes by hospital lab technician — Trial judge excluding blood samples seized by police but declining to exclude hospital records containing results of blood analysis — Court of Appeal agreeing that some breaches occurred but finding that accused did not invoke right to counsel and therefore that implementational component of that right was not breached — Court of Appeal declining to exclude further evidence on basis that it would not enhance repute of administration of justice — Convictions upheld — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 8 , 10(b) , 24(2) .

APPEAL from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal (Hourigan, Pardu and Nordheimer JJ.A.), 2018 ONCA 665 , 142 O.R. (3d) 241, 364 C.C.C. (3d) 191, 30 M.V.R. (7th) 1, [2018] O.J. No. 3946 (QL), 2018 CarswellOnt 12035 (WL Can.), affirming the convictions of the accused for operation of a vessel with a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit causing bodily harm. Appeal

dismissed, Abella and Martin JJ. dissenting. Dirk Derstine , for the appellant. Mabel Lai and Matthew Asma , for the respondent. Nader R. Hasan and Carlo Di Carlo , for the intervener the Criminal Lawyers’ Association. Anthony Moustacalis , for the intervener the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by [ 1 ] Moldaver J. — A majority of the Court would dismiss the appeal, substantially for the reasons of Justice Nordheimer. [ 2 ] Justices Abella and Martin, in dissent, would allow the appeal, substantially for the reasons of Justice Pardu. Judgment accordingly.

Solicitors for the appellant: Derstine Penman, Toronto. Solicitor for the respondent: Attorney General of Ontario, Toronto. Solicitors for the intervener the Criminal Lawyers’ Association: Stockwoods, Toronto. Solicitor for the intervener the Canadian Civil Liberties Association: Anthony Moustacalis, Toronto.