A Canadian judge has ruled that police must provide accused, arrested individuals with internet access so that they can find a lawyer. Do you think this is a good idea?
The ruling, in which the judge compared internet accesses to having a phone book to hand, was spurred by a case involving 19-year-old Christopher McKay. When arrested, he made one phone call for help but was unsuccessful and gave up — later claiming that he thought he was only allowed one go, like in the movies. The judge believed things would be different if he had been given access to a computer, writing:
“In the year 2013 it is the Court’s view that all police stations must be equipped with Internet access and detainees must have the same opportunities to access the Internet to find a lawyer as they do to access the telephone book to find a lawyer.”
It’s certainly a rare example of forward-thinking in the law, but do you agree with it? Should arrested individuals be able to hunt out support online? [The Star via Michael Geist via Boing Boing]
Picture: AP