Use theR v Godoy.docx
downloadpiece of case law from 1999 to look for how logic has been used in the justice system. Read the entire piece of case law to get a good sense for the events and outcomes. Then:
- choose one or two sections and identify the fallacies and arguments.Do notidentify arguments throughout the entire document. This exercise is intended for you to use a small portion of the case law and go through it thouroughly for arguments and fallacies.
- You should identifyat leastfive arguments or non-arguments.
- For example, you can identify at minimum two arguments and three non-arguments, or three arguments and three non-arguments.
- As you identify each, state why it is an argument (or not and argument).
- If it is an argument then identify the conclusion of the argument and the reasons (premises) offered in support of the conclusion. If it is not an argument, be sure to point out the error in logic.
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R. v. Godoy, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 311 Vincent GodoyAppellant v. Her Majesty The QueenRespondent and The Attorney General of CanadaIntervener Indexed as: R. v. Godoy File No.: 26078. Hearing and judgment: December 2, 1998. Reasons delivered: February 4, 1999. Present: Lamer C.J. and L’HeureuxDubé, Gonthier, Cory, McLachlin, Iacobucci, Major, Bastarache and Binnie JJ. on appeal from the court of appeal for ontario Criminal law Police Scope of police powers Emergency calls Police officers forcibly entering dwelling in response to emergency 911 call Whether police acting in execution of their duty to protect life and prevent injury Whether police had reasonable and probable grounds to arrest accused. Two police officers received a call from radio dispatch concerning a 911 emergency call originating from the accused’s apartment in which the line had been disconnected before the caller spoke. Along with two backup officers they arrived at the accused’s apartment and knocked on the door. The accused partially opened the door and when asked if things were all right inside responded that there was no problem. One of the officers asked if they could enter the apartment to investigate but the accused tried to close the door. The officer prevented him from shutting the door and the four officers entered the dwelling. The officer testified that as soon as they got inside, he heard a woman crying. He found the accused’s common law wife in their bedroom, curled in a fetal position and sobbing. The officer observed considerable swelling above her left eye. He testified that she stated the accused had hit her. Based on these observations, the accused was placed under arrest for assaulting his wife. He resisted the arrest and in the ensuing struggle, an officer’s finger was broken. The accused was charged with assaulting a police officer with the intent of resisting arrest. The trial judge dismissed the charge, holding that the officers’ entry into the accused’s apartment was unauthorized and that therefore all subsequent actions of the police, including the arrest of the accused, were illegal. The Ontario Court (General Division) allowed the Crown’s appeal and ordered a new trial. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision. Held: The appeal should be dismissed. - 2 - Public policy clearly requires that the police ab initio have the authority to investigate 911 calls, but whether they may enter dwelling houses in the course of such an investigation depends on the circumstances of each case. If police conduct constitutes a prima facie interference with a person’s liberty or property, as it does here, the court must consider two questions: first, does the conduct fall within the general scope of any duty imposed by statute or recognised at common law; and second, does the conduct, albeit within the general scope of such a duty, involve an unjustifiable use of powers associated with the duty. The common law duties of the police (statutorily incorporated in s. 42(3) of the Ontario Police Services Act) include the protection of life. The police duty to protect life is engaged whenever it can be inferred that the 911 caller is or may be in some distress, including cases where the call is disconnected before the nature of the emergency can be determined. The importance of the police duty to protect life warrants and justifies a forced entry into a dwelling in order to ascertain the health and safety of a 911 caller. While residents have a recognized privacy interest within the sanctity of their home, the public interest in maintaining an effective emergency response system is obvious and significant enough to merit some intrusion on a resident’s privacy interest. However, the intrusion must be limited to the protection of life and safety; the police do not have further permission to search premises or otherwise intrude on a resident’s privacy or property. The forced entry into the accused’s home was justifiable considering all the circumstances of this case. The police had a duty to ascertain the reason for the 911 call and had the power, derived as a matter of common law from this duty, to enter the apartment to verify that there was in fact no emergency. The fact that the accused tried to shut the door on the police further contributes to the appropriateness of their response in forcing entry. Having found that the police were authorized to enter the accused’s dwelling, the Court of Appeal did not err in finding there were reasonable and probable grounds to arrest the accused. Cases Cited Distinguished: R. v. Feeney, [1997] 2 S.C.R. 13; referred to: R. v. Landry, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 145; R. v. Simpson (1993), 79 C.C.C. (3d) 482; R. v. Waterfield, [1963] 3 All E.R. 659; R. v. Stenning, [1970] S.C.R. 631; Knowlton v. The Queen, [1974] S.C.R. 443; Dedman v. The Queen, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 2; R. v. Plant, [1993] 3 S.C.R. 281; R. v. Edwards, [1996] 1 S.C.R. 128. Statutes and Regulations Cited Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 8. Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, s. 42. APPEAL from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal (1997), 33 O.R. (3d) 445, 100 O.A.C. 104, 115 C.C.C. (3d) 272, 7 C.R. (5th) 216, [1997] O.J. No. 1408 (QL), affirming a decision of the Ontario Court (General Division) allowing the Crown’s appeal from the accused’s acquittal of assaulting a police officer with intent to resist lawful arrest and ordering a new trial. Appeal dismissed. Christopher D. Hicks and Carol Cahill, for the appellant. Scott C. Hutchison and Erika Chozik, for the respondent. Bernard Laprade and Carole Sheppard, for the intervener. The judgment of the Court was delivered by //The Chief Justice// The Chief Justice - - This case raises for the first time the scope of police powers in responding to emergency 911 calls. The Court of Appeal held that the police had a common law duty to investigate a 911 call and, accordingly, had authority to forcibly enter a dwelling in search of the caller. This Court affirmed that decision from the bench and indicated that reasons for judgment would follow. The Court of Appeal decision is well reasoned. I wish only to add a few remarks concerning the police duty to protect the safety of the public and the importance of an effective emergency response system. I. Background In the early morning hours of June 1, 1992, Officers Clafton and Baldesarra received a call from radio dispatch concerning an “unknown trouble call” originating from the appellant’s apartment. An “unknown trouble call” is a 911 call in which the line is disconnected before the caller speaks. The 911 system is equipped to trace all incoming calls and automatically provides dispatchers with the address of the caller. Unknown trouble calls are deemed by police policy to be the second highest priority distress call, superseded only by calls concerning police officers in distress. While all 911 calls are treated as requests for assistance, unknown trouble calls carry the added element of the unknown. Accordingly, police procedure is to respond with back-up. In this case, Officers Mercer and Connor assisted at the appellant’s residence. At approximately 1:30 a.m., the four officers arrived at the appellant’s apartment and knocked on the door. The appellant partially opened the door and when asked if things were all right inside, responded: “Sure, there is no problem”. Officer Clafton asked if they could enter the apartment to investigate if there was a problem but the appellant tried to close the door. Officer Clafton prevented him from shutting the door by putting his foot in the way. The four officers then entered the dwelling. Officer Clafton testified that as soon as they got inside, he heard a woman crying. He found the appellant’s common law wife in their bedroom, curled in a fetal position and sobbing. The officer observed considerable swelling above her left eye. He testified that she stated the appellant had hit her. Based on these observations, Officer Mercer placed the appellant under arrest for assaulting his wife. The appellant resisted the arrest and in the ensuing struggle, Officer Baldesarra’s finger was broken. The appellant was charged with assaulting a police officer with the intent of resisting arrest. II. Judgments Below A. Ontario Court (Provincial Division) At the trial, Bentley Prov. Div. J. dismissed the initial charge of assault on the appellant’s wife after she testified that he did not hit her. With respect to the second charge of assaulting Officer Baldesarra, the trial judge held that the officers’ entry in the appellant’s apartment was unauthorized and therefore all subsequent actions of the police, including the arrest of the appellant, were illegal. In reaching his decision that the officers’ entry into the apartment was unlawful, Bentley Prov. Div. J. concluded that the 911 call and then a denial of entry at the door did not constitute reasonable and probable grounds to violate the sanctity of a person’s dwelling house. The charge of assaulting a police officer was dismissed. B. Ontario Court (General Division) Hoilett J. allowed the appeal from the Provincial Division decision on the basis that the characterization of the 911 call and subsequent denial of entry at the door as being insufficient to constitute reasonable and probable grounds to enter the home ignores modern social realities in which spousal abuse is not an “uncommon phenomenon”. Hoilett J. noted that had the police taken “no” for an answer at the door and a homicide occurred, he could only speculate as to public response. A new trial was ordered. C. Ontario Court of Appeal (1997), 33 O.R. (3d) 445 Finlayson J.A. for the court dismissed the appeal. He reviewed the common law powers accorded to police officers as set out in R. v. Landry, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 145, and found that the 911 call gave the police reasonable and probable grounds to believe that there was an emergency in the apartment and that the caller was in distress. The high priority given to disconnected 911 calls is instructive and reflects the collective experience of the police force in responding to this kind of distress call. Finlayson J.A. referred to the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in R. v. Simpson (1993), 79 C.C.C