News
LETTERS – AUGUST 2016

[Searching on the Blue Line Magazine Web site]

Is there a link to all of the case law discussions or articles? If not could one be created as this would be a great asset to new members, and us older ones, just wanting to brush up on recent trends.

Lee Watt
Red Deer, Alberta

[<Publisher’s Response>]

There are a lot of roads to Blue Line Case Law… and all the Blue Line regular writers and past issues.

If you go to our web page and click on Mike Novakowski’s name at the top of the current Case law you will be taken to past case law pieces he has written over the years. It is not indexed but is downloadable if you wish to set up your own index. We permit this for training, educational and non-commercial purposes.

As a side note this method is also available for all regular writers.

It should be noted that this is only about a half to a third of the case law Mike supplies in the magazine itself. If you know some key words to search you can also go to our web page” Archive” button and search all back issues of the magazine with the exception of the current year. Of course the best way to keep up-to-date is to purchase a subscription to and read them monthly. All registered students with Niagara College taking their various law courses currently subscribe through the college and are always up-to-date… the professors insist on it.

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In February 2015 I stopped a snowmobile while it was being driven on a roadway. Upon speaking with the driver, I noted a moderate smell of alcohol emitting from his breath and the fact that his face was flushed. (no driving evidence other than being on the roadway) Subsequently I read him the demand for an approved instrument. DataMaster readings were 100mgs and 100mgs.

From previous similar fact cases I anticipated a Section 8 Charter argument. In a rather timely manner, the March 2015 edition of Blue Line contained a recent case law on breath sample demands (R v, Schofield 2015 VSCA) in which Judges should give weight to seasoned officer’s testimony when it comes to the RPG’s to read the demand. I made a copy of this article and put it aside just in case!

The accused went to trial with a veteran trial lawyer on February 2nd 2016. As predicted a Section 8 Charter argument resulted in a voir dire before the trial to try to have the certificate of a qualified technician tossed.

Prior to the voir dire, I presented this Blue Line published case law to the crown. When on the stand the Crown placed emphasis on my 32 years as a police officer, my having conducted 450 breath tests as a technician, and also my many impaired arrests. The defense tried to get the case tossed on the weak grounds of no driving evidence. The case was reserved for decision.

On March 4th, the trial Judge ruled in the Crown’s favour and admitted the certificate into evidence. She read into her submission verbatim the findings of the case provided by the Blue Line case law. I believe that without having provided the Crown with this recent case law that this matter would have been lost.

I would like to thank Mike Novakowski for his continual publications of current cases. They help us to gain successful convictions against these Charter arguments. And thank you Morley for publishing them in each edition of

Sgt. Bob Bruce
Miramichi Police Force

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I was reading the Article by Elvin Klassen in the February edition of Blue Line Magazine which we all enjoy here at the office. In the article he quotes the price of a Highway Distress Flare at $10 to $20 each – in fact the nominal
cost of these flares to most Police Agencies will run below $4 (Canadian). Just to set the record straight.

Keep up the great articles.

Everett Clausen
President C-I-L Explosives