What is the current state of the law on "protective sweep" searches?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from R. v. N.M., 2007 CanLII 31570 (ON SC):

In Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325 (1990), referred to by Doherty J.A. in Golub, the court defined the contours of the protective sweep power of the police: (1) A search of a house is generally not reasonable without a warrant to search based upon probable cause. (p. 331) (2) Incidental to a lawful arrest, “as a precautionary matter and without probable cause or reasonable suspicion”, arresting officers may search “spaces immediately adjoining the place of arrest from which an attack could be immediately launched”. (p. 334) (3) Beyond that, the Fourth Amendment would permit a protective sweep of a broader area only if the police possess a reasonable belief based on specific and articulable facts which, taken together with the rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warranted the belief that the area swept harboured an individual posing a danger to the officer or others. (pp. 327, 333-4) (4) “A “protective sweep” is a quick and limited search of premises, incident to an arrest and conducted to protect the safety of police officers or others. It is narrowly confined to a cursory visual inspection of those places in which a person might be hiding”. (pp. 327, 335) (5) Reasonable, “individualized suspicion” is an essential feature of a legitimate protective sweep. There must be a level of “objective justification” arising from the particular circumstances in each case – “it is decidedly not “automatic”, but may be conducted only when justified by a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the house is harbouring a person posing a danger to those on the arrest scene”. (pp. 334-6) additional American jurisprudence

Other Questions


What is the current state of the law on hearsay in child protection applications? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law in the United States when it comes to detaining a suspected shoplifter? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law on strip searches? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law in the United States? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law in the United States when it comes to declaratory litigation? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law in the United States and Canada on the doctrine of joint prosecution? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law in the context of search and seizure cases? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law on searches conducted at border entry points? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law on pit bull legislation in the United States? (Ontario, Canada)
What is the current state of the law on disclosure in the use of affidavit in child protection proceedings? (Ontario, Canada)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.