CRI365H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Mens Rea, Cultural Relativism, Cutaneous Condition
8 Aug 2022
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Document Summary
This week, the basic idea of a cultural defence in criminal law cases. Next week, cases where cultural issues also involve claims of mental disturbance. Basic cultural defence recently immigrated accused could be exonerated/culpability mitigated where the accused was following accepted conduct w/in his/her home culture. Had little opportunity to appreciate the conduct was unacceptable in the. Courts & legislatures in common law jurisdictions, including canada, have rejected the new domicile idea of a formal cultural defence. Formal defence considered but rejected by canadian gov"t in 1994. However, cultural evidence is sometimes admitted in support of an established defence results in lower verdicts/sentences. Arguments for formal cultural defence promotes multiculturalism by recognizing. Having no defence suggests western norms should have been obviously correct to all cultures (from the beginning/immediately) Most important for us the rejection of the cultural defence ends up w/the morally innocent being punished.
