I.Review of Singh

This case is a derivative of the landmark right to silence decision released three months ago, in R. v. Singh (2007) SCC.

To briefly review the key points: In November, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada made the following major ruling, in R. v. Singh (2007) regarding the right to silence: A police officer may continue to question an arrested person who has invoked the right to remain silent.

Five key points emerge from this rule:

1. Invoking the right to silence does not automatically end an interrogation.
2. It is not a sec. 7 Charter violation for the police to ignore an arrested person's right to remain silent and to persuade the accused to change his mind.
3. Considerable persistent questioning is allowed after the right to silence is invoked.
4. The police are entitled to continue questioning after the right to silence is invoked "so long as their conduct does not reach the point where the suspect's will is overborne and his statement is no longer voluntary." An "overborne will" is defined as being "deprived of an operating mind." It means incapable of making meaningful decisions - the free will to make choices. In other words, as long as the accused has an operating mind and has decision-making capacity, "persistent" interrogation may continue.
5. A sec. 7 Charter violation occurs only if an arrested person invokes the right to remain silent and the police interrogation techniques cause the arrested person to lose his decision-making capacity. In Canada, an interrogation must stop only when the suspect's operating mind is deprived - when he loses the ability to make sound decisions.