LOSL Lawyers Win Precedent-Setting Case Regarding Breathalyzers At School Prom

On February 23, 2015, Justice Himel released her reasons for judgment in an application brought by Jonathan Lisus and Ian Matthews on behalf of two Toronto-area high school students. The application challenged the decision of school authorities to implement a mandatory breathalyzer test as a pre-condition of entry into the students’ prom. In a precedent-setting decision, Justice Susan Himel granted the students’ application. She determined that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to school authorities, including at off-site school activities such as prom. She found that the mandatory breathalyzer test infringed students’ Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and that requiring students to take this test violated school board policies. A copy of the decision can be found here:Gillies v. TDSB - 2015 ONSC 1038