Police had no right to seize hidden bedside camera from Airbnb condo, judge says

[Wendell]

Ontario court judge Joseph Bovard said he realized that excluding the evidence would gut the prosecution's case, but said he had to do so anyway given the cumulative charter violations. The case arose in September 2018 when Robert Wallenberg, in town for the Toronto International Film Festival, rented the downtown Airbnb apartment from the owner for 10 days. After discovering the hidden camera, Wallenberg contacted Airbnb, which advised him to go to a hotel and call police. Court records show Wallenberg let the officer, identified as Const. Lewis, into the apartment and showed him the clock-camera. On advice of a detective, Lewis seized the gadget and placed it in a property locker at the police station. Another officer later inspected the camera briefly, then applied for a warrant to search the device. After finding stored video of people engaged in various activities in the bedroom, including one man masturbating on the bed and others, including the condo owner, in various states of undress, police charged the owner with voyeurism. At trial, the owner argued for exclusion of the video evidence on the basis that police violated his rights with the warrantless search and seizure. Bovard concluded the condo owner did have a reasonable expectation of privacy, given evidence that he was the sole owner of the apartment, it was filled with his possessions, and he used it himself at times. The judge also rejected prosecution arguments that by renting out his condo to Wallenberg, the condo owner had undermined his own privacy expectations. The judge also concluded the officer's suspicion of possible criminal activity did not give him the right to seize the clock-camera or allow police to inspect it without a warrant. "The police not only breached [his] rights by entering and searching the apartment without a warrant, but they continued to breach his rights by seizing his property and searching it," Bovard said in the decision. "Admitting evidence that was obtained in such a manner would bring the administration of justice into disrepute."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/police-hidden-camera-airbnb-1.5454679

[0ddl0t]

Was about to say the judge's ruling goes against US case law, but then realized it happened in Toronto.

[David C.]

Amazing that Canadian courts respect our 4th Amendment more than American courts.

[Wendell]

It looks to me as though the societal effects of this whole AirBnB thing is much further ranging and way more complicated than I ever could have imagined.

[AKDoug]

It looks to me as though the societal effects of this whole AirBnB thing is much further ranging and way more complicated than I ever could have imagined.

What societal effects?