IMSI CATCHER CASE ENDS IN MONTREAL
A landmark police surveillance case ended in Montreal this week. Police had used an IMSI catcher — a secretive device that imitates a cellphone tower and can obtain data from a target’s phone — against the defendants, who were charged with first degree murder. Frank was the lead defence lawyer at the Quebec Superior Court and argued that the Crown was required to disclose details about the IMSI catcher and how it was used against the defendants. The judge agreed and ordered the disclosure to be made. The Crown immediately appealed the disclosure ruling and the appeal was scheduled to be argued this week at the Quebec Court of Appeal. However, the defendants then agreed to plead guilty to the lesser offence of murder conspiracy in exchange for the first degree murder charges being dropped, and the issue is now moot and the appeal cancelled. Full coverage in the Globe and Mail.