The Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in R v. Ward earlier today. The case involved the conviction of a worthless low-life pedophile by the name of David Ward.

The police were able to find him due, in part, by tracking down his IP address and asking his ISP to provide the identity of the customer using the IP address at the time. His ISP did so voluntarily, even though the police did not have a search warrant. The appeal focused on whether or not he had been subject to unreasonable search and seizure, in violation of the the Charter of Rights, and whether or not he had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The Court of Appeal’s decision concluded that the disclosure of this information by the ISP to the police did not violate his Charter  rights nor was there, nor should there have been, a reasonable expectation of privacy.

While my personal sentiments in respect of Mr. Ward would be that I could care less if he rotted in a jail cell for the rest of his days, the ends, as they say, do not always justify the means. And if the law is to be applied equally to everyone, I do believe there are some rather disconcerting implications regarding the conclusions in this case, notwithstanding the court’s attempt to put a ring fence around its application.

No time for the detailed analysis right now but it will be forthcoming. In the meantime, I encourage you to read the case – what do you think?