Top Five 2008: R v Singh

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

R v Singh, [2007] 3 SCR 405, 2007 SCC 48

In this case, an accused asserted his right to silence 18 times in a police interrogation before ultimately admitting to the crime.  Was the continued police questioning constitutional? A majority of the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the s. 7 Charter right to silence does not oblige police to stop questioning a suspect who clearly asserts the right to silence. Police may use legitimate means of persuasion to try to obtain a statement from a detainee who has asserted a choice to remain silent. The full decision is avilable here.