The Supreme Court of Canada will issue its reasons for judgment in Ward v. City of Vancouver on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 6:45 a.m.

The case arose out of the mistaken arrest of Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward in August of 2002. After the Vancouver police refused to apologize, and after a complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner was dismissed as “unsubstantiated”, Mr. Ward brought a civil case to the BC Supreme Court, which awarded him compensation of $10,100. The trial judge found that his constitutional rights had been violated by the authorities’ wrongful detention and unreasonable search and seizure.

The defendants appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, lost and then appealed to the country’s highest court, which heard legal arguments in January. Twenty five lawyers were in attendance representing the interests of the parties and intervenors.