Editor’s Note: This post was written as a preview of an upcoming Supreme Court of Canada decision for the Fantasy Courts website and newsletter. Photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash.
🚓 On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in R. v. Carignan. The Court will look at how far police powers go when arresting without a warrant, and how easy it is for an accused to challenge an arrest that the Criminal Code says is “deemed” lawful.
🏥 Last Friday, December 5, 2025, the SCC released R. v. B.F., 2025 SCC 41, a tragic insulin-overdose case about the line between attempted murder and aiding suicide. 63% correctly predicted the result of the Crown’s appeal.
🔮 Head over to Fantasy Courts to lock in your predictions for this week’s decision. Scroll down for details on this week’s case or a recap of last week’s judgment.
Case to Predict: Can You Challenge a “Deemed Lawful” Warrantless Arrest?
Appeal by leave from Carignan c. R., 2024 QCCA 86
SCC webcast 🎥 (factums not available)
What Happened?
Police arrested David Carignan without a warrant 11 days after an alleged hybrid Criminal Code offence. At trial, he brought a motion arguing the arrest and detention were unlawful, relying on s. 495(2) of the Criminal Code (limits on warrantless arrest) and s. 9 of the Charter (arbitrary detention). He said that for hybrid offences, police can only arrest without warrant if they have reasonable grounds an indictable offence was committed and that arrest is necessary in the public interest.
The trial judge summarily dismissed the motion, without a voir dire, holding that s. 495(3) allowed the arrest based on reasonable grounds alone and that there was nothing unlawful about it. The Quebec Court of Appeal disagreed, found the motion was not bound to fail, and ordered a new trial, stressing that s. 495(2) still imposes real limits on warrantless arrests.
What Was Argued at the SCC?
Appellant: The Crown argued that s. 495(2) and s. 495(3) form a single scheme. Once an officer has reasonable grounds to think the s. 495(2) conditions were met, s. 495(3) “deems” the arrest lawful. Letting every alleged defect in s. 495(2) become a Charter challenge would undermine police powers and clog the courts with voir dires. Trial judges must be able to screen out hopeless motions without a full voir dire.
Respondent: Carignan argued that s. 495(2) was designed to prevent unnecessary arrests. It must actually limit police, especially for hybrid offences. Section 495(3) is not a magic wand, and it doesn’t erase the right to challenge the lawfulness of a warrantless arrest in court. If s. 495(3) is read too broadly, accused persons lose a meaningful way to contest whether an arrest was really needed in the public interest.
What Else Should You Know Before Making a Prediction?
This is a test of how much bite s. 495(2) has versus how much forgiveness s. 495(3) offers police who arrest without a warrant. A win for the Crown would make it harder to challenge warrantless arrests and give police more confidence that hybrid-offence arrests will stand. A win for Carignan would strengthen Charter review of arrests and could push police to rely more on summonses and promises to appear where public safety truly allows it. I’m leaning towards appeal dismissed, as the SCC has consistently been strictly interpreting legislation in a manner that favours individual rights.
Previous Case Recap: R. v. B.F.
R. v. B.F., 2025 SCC 41
Held (6:3): Crown’s appeal allowed and accused’s appeal dismissed.
Key findings:
- The case turned on jury instructions, not on creating new law about suicide pacts.
- The SCC held that the jury had been properly equipped to decide guilt on the charges actually before it.
- The “aiding suicide” route didn’t have an air of reality on these facts to require special instructions.
- While the majority declined to address the issue, the dissent gave some guidance on the distinction between the offences of attempted murder and aiding suicide.
đź“Š 63% of Fantasy Courts players predicted the outcome in B.F. correctly.
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-Tom Slade