After years of struggle, one Elmvale family has had their day in court.

The Minty family has said for years police should not be allowed to consult with lawyers when preparing their notes.

In 2009, 59 year old Doug Minty, a developmentally challenged man, was shot by police at his Elmvale home.

Police say when they arrived, Minty came at them with a knife.

Police shot Minty and he died in his driveway. 

After the shooting there was some question about how the police notes were prepared.

In this case, a lawyer vetted and approved what was in the police notebooks before they were handed over to the Special Investigations Unit.

Afterwards there was some question as to whether or not what was passed was accurate.

Minty's family argued having a lawyer approve the notes that end up in police memo books is unacceptable.

They also said it was wrong to allow a single lawyer to act for several officers involved in an incident.

Today Canada's top court ruled in favour of this argument saying police are not allowed to use a lawyer to help them prepare their notes before handing them over to agencies like the SIU.

Justice Michael Moldaver says, "A reasonable member of the public would naturally question whether counsel's assistance at the note taking stage is sought by officers to help them fulfil their duties as police officers, or if it is instead sought, in their self-interest, to protect themselves and their colleagues from the potential liability of an adverse SIU investigation."

The Minty's were on of two Ontario families who have spent the past four years arguing this case.

Police say they have the right to talk to a lawyer of their choosing before finalizing their notes.

Dan Axford is the interim president of the Police Association of Ontario.

He says the high court’s decision is a difficult one to digest, but one that is respected.