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Can you be entrapped by phone? The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that you can.

One of the ways that entrapment can occur is if the police engage in random virtue testing: presenting an opportunity to commit a crime without a reasonable suspicion that the person being tested is already committing the crime, or that the crime is already occurring in the place where the police are testing random people.

An example of a place where police have a reasonable suspicion that crimes are being committed might be an area where illegal drugs are being sold frequently.

The Supreme Court of Canada concluded that a phone number, believed to be associated with illegal drug sales, could also constitute a place, like a street corner.\\xa0

While a tip on unknown reliability that a phone number is being used to sell drugs would not be enough to constitute reasonable suspicion, the language used when the phone is answered could provide the reasonable suspicion necessary to ask and see if the person answering the phone is willing to sell drugs.\\xa0

Also discussed is the US Posse Comitatus Act (1878), which is relevant to President Trump\\u2019s threat to use the US military to stop riots and looting which have accompanied peaceful protests over a police officer killing a black man by kneeling on his neck after he was handcuffed and laying on the ground.\\xa0

A Posse Comitatus, at common law, is a group of citizens mobilized by a sheriff to suppress lawlessness, defend the country, or apprehend someone who has committed a serious crime.\\xa0

The US Posse Comitatus Act restricted the use of the military to enforce domestic laws. Since it was passed, however, various amendments have been passed that permit exceptions to this limitation.\\xa0

In Canada, while we do not have a history of using the posse, we do have section 67 of the Criminal Code which required a justice, mayor, sheriff, deputy mayor, or deputy sheriff to, upon being informed of a riot of 12 or more people, to attend as close as is safe and, in a loud voice, read, or cause to be read, the following:\\xa0

"Her Majesty the Queen charges and commands all persons being assembled immediately to disperse and peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their lawful business on the pain of being guilty of an offence for which, on conviction, they may be sentenced to imprisonment for life. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN."

Once this has been read, if people don\\u2019t disperse, they commit and offence and are liable to imprisonment for life.

Finally, a Court of Appeal decision is discussed which concludes that you can be convicted for holding an electronic device while driving, even if the device is completely inoperable, or equipped with software that deactivates it in a car.\\xa0

The decision makes clear that the legislation in question needs to be amended so as to avoid punishing people who are not engaged in an activity that is dangerous.

Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases and legislation discussed.