Case studies

Expert Witness to the Quebec Superior Court

FRA provided pro-bono support to a Canadian individual who brought a case to the Quebec Superior Court to challenge the Canadian Criminal Code law that allows police officers to make traffic stops without suspecting any offence being committed.

Challenge

FRA provided pro-bono support to a Canadian individual who brought a case to the Quebec Superior Court to challenge the Canadian Criminal Code law that allows police officers to make traffic stops without suspecting any offence being committed. The client's lawyers argued that the power of police to randomly stop drivers, outside of drunk driving checkpoints, was unconstitutional and enabled racial profiling.

Action

FRA submitted an expert witness to the Quebec Superior Court report regarding i) standard practices generally used by police departments in capturing motorists data; and ii)  the police department’s ability to capture, maintain and analyze motorist’s demographic data including race or ethnicity, age and sex. FRA attended court to support the legal team’s questioning of opposing counsel and expert witnesses.

Results

FRA’s expert witness report and in-court presence has contributed to the judge ruling in our client’s favor by overturning the 1990 Supreme Court decision that allows police officers to randomly stop vehicles. Read more about the significance of the ruling in The Guardian ("Canada court rules random traffic stops are racist and unconstitutional", 26 Oct 2022).

'We are grateful for the vital assistance that FRA provided our client in achieving this landmark victory. We would like to extend a special and heartfelt thanks to Greg Mason and Ashley Klass, who were unwavering in their support of this cause and the achievement of this result. It was a tremendous privilege to work alongside such experienced and dedicated professionals.' - Lawyers Mike Simeon and Alexandre Bien-Aimé

Read more about the FRA experts who supported this matter: founding partner Greg Mason and associate director Ash Klass.

Related contacts
Ash Klass
Director
,
Paris
Greg Mason
Founding Partner
,
Providence
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