Assignment Clarification:

For our Legal Research assignment, here's a quick summary of what I need help with:

Case Context: The defendant is charged with importing a silencer and possession of brass knuckles. The police conducted several warrantless searches and seizures, including a controlled delivery of a package and a vehicle search. These searches and the evidence they collected are now under scrutiny in a voir dire on the admissibility of the evidence.

Main Questions:

1. Warrantless Search of Mother's Property: What are the legal issues surrounding the police entering the defendant's mother's property without a warrant to retrieve a buried package?
2. Search with Warrant of Mother's Home: Are there any Section 8 (unreasonable search and seizure) issues raised by the police searching the defendant's mother's home with a warrant (assuming the Information to Obtain is valid)?
3. Warrantless Search of Defendant's Car: What legal issues arise from the police searching the defendant's car without a warrant?
4. Reasonable Suspicion vs. Reasonable Grounds: What is the appropriate test for the two warrantless searches - "reasonable suspicion" or "reasonable grounds" (R + P grounds)? Should it be a combination of both?

Here is a summary of all the facts of the case from the assignment:

Case Facts:

Charges:

• The defendant is charged with importing prohibited weapons (a long-arm silencer) and possession of weapons (brass knuckles).

Arrival of Package:

• A package arrives at Canada Post and, after scanning, is believed to contain a silencer.
• The package does not have the defendant's name on it but is addressed to another person, with the address being the defendant's mother's home (where the defendant lives). The package has the defendant's phone number on it.

Controlled Delivery:

• The police decide to conduct a controlled delivery by having an officer pretend to be a postman to deliver the package to the defendant.
• Upon receiving the package, the defendant denies it is his, but says he knows the addressee and will try calling him.
• The defendant is observed faking a phone call to the addressee.

Defendant's Actions:

• The defendant eventually lets the officer leave the package with him.
• After the officer leaves, the defendant is seen burying the package.

Defendant Leaves the Property:

• After burying the package, the defendant leaves the property.

Warrantless Search:

• The police revisit the property without a warrant to search for and seize the package.
• They then find the defendant at a gas station and arrest him without a warrant.

Search of Defendant's Person:

• Upon arrest, the police search the defendant incidentally to the arrest, but they find nothing.

Search of Defendant's Vehicle:

• The police then search the defendant's vehicle and find a set of brass knuckles.

Search of Defendant's Mother's Home:

• The police later obtain a search warrant for the defendant's mother's home.
• Upon searching the home, they find more brass knuckles and two additional silencers.

Voir Dire:

• The case is currently at a voir dire to determine the admissibility of the evidence collected during the searches.

Defendant's Testimony:

• During the voir dire, the defendant testifies that he has a criminal record for possession of silencers and has previously served time for this offense.
• The police testify that they knew about the defendant's criminal record at the beginning of the investigation and that it influenced their decision to conduct the warrantless searches.