This week at the SCC

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the following appeals this week — all from Nova Scotia:

May 7 — Nova Scotia — Chehil v. R.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms: RCMP officers found a large stash of cocaine on Mandeep Singh Chehil when he was searched at the Halifax airport. He was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking but the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled the search violated his Charter rights and Chehil was acquitted. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.

May 8 — Nova Scotia — Annapolis County District School Board v. Marshall

Procedural law: Johnathan Marshall, 4, was playing outside his home located along a highway when he was hit by a school bus and suffered serious injuries. When he turned 19, he filed a lawsuit against the bus driver and the Annapolis County District School Board. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia dismissed the case after the jury found no negligence on the bus driver’s part. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.

May 10 — Nova Scotia — A.B. v. Bragg Communications Inc.

Procedural law: A girl applied for a court order to require Bragg Communications Inc. to disclose the identity of the person who used a particular IP address to create a fake Facebook profile of her. She also requested to be identified by initials and ban the public from knowing the words in the fake Facebook profile. The judge granted the disclosure order but not the ban on the fake profile. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision. There is a publication ban and sealing order in the case.

At 9:45 a.m. on May 11, the SCC will also release its ruling in R. v. R.P. (Que.).