Conviction appeal on child pornography charges. Police executed a warrant authorizing the seizure of “devices capable of accessing the internet.” During the search, police opened a laptop and saw that it was logged into a sex chat room. Police later obtained a General Warrant to search the computer. Issues as to whether the first warrant authorized a computer search, and whether an ITO may be read with the warrant to determine the proper scope of the search.
Held: Appeal dismissed.
No s. 8 breach. “The wording of the first warrant authorized an assessment of whether the device was ‘capable of accessing the internet’. The warrant authorized actions that incorporated a defined purpose … the search of electronic devices to ascertain their connectivity to the internet … We leave for another day whether an Information to Obtain and a search warrant can be melded togther for the purpose of deciding what the warrant itself specifically authorized.”
D. Song – Defence Counsel