Criminal Defences CLN4U

Defenses Every person is entitled to present a defence at trial A defence may be defined broadly as any denial or answer to the charge against the accused person If the Crown's case is very weak, a defence lawyer may choose not to present any evidence To convict, the Crown must prove the facts and the required state of mind

Defenses In a more narrow sense, a defence may be defined as a legally recognised excuse or justification for criminal conduct Let’s look at some specific defences

Alibi When an accused person claims that he or she was not present at the time of the offence. Independent evidence supporting this claim strengthens an alibi defence.

Self-Defense The right to defend oneself of one's family from death or serious injury A person must not have provoked the assault Reasonable Force: A person who is attacked may use only the amount of force necessary to defend against the attack. Has been extended to include "battered woman syndrome”

Defense of Property Similar to self-defence A person may use reasonable force to prevent someone from entering his or her home or coming onto that person's property No excessive force Does not justify shooting, stabbing, or setting traps that would injure a trespasser

Provocation Something that causes another person to lose his or her self-control Can be an act or an insult Can reduce a charge to manslaughter - only time a person may use provocation as a defence

Duress (or Compulsion) A person who commits an offence because he or she was threatened with immediate death or serious injury Not a defence to violent crimes such as sexual assault, aggravated assault, or murder

Necessity A person who does an illegal act to prevent a more serious result may raise the defence of necessity There are several conditions: The accused must show that the act was done to avoid a greater evil There must have been no alternative The illegal act must not have been more than necessary to avoid the evil

Automatism Criminal behaviour must be voluntary Crimes committed in an unconscious state are rare, however require an acquittal if proven, ex. sleepwalking, epileptic seizure, blow to the head...

Mistake of Fact A person whose behaviour would otherwise be criminal may have a defence if he or she made a mistake about the facts, not the law Must be an honest mistake Mistake of fact, when it occurs, cancels any "Criminal State of Mind” Can not be used as a defence to absolute liability offences

Mistake of Law Ignorance of the law is no excuse; not knowing that something is a criminal offence does not mean it is all right to commit the offence But, when an accused person can show that a government official misled him or her about the law, an exception called "Officially induced error" applies

Mental Disorders Formerly known as "Defence of Insanity” An accused that suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the offence may not be criminally responsible. Law assumes all persons are sane - burden of proof of mental illness falls to the defence The person must not have known what he or she did, or that it was wrong

Mental Disorders The judge may order an assessment of the accused person's mental condition. The assessment may be done: To see whether the accused person if fit to stand trial. To see whether the accused person was suffering from a mental disorder at the time the offence was committed The psychiatrist or other medical practitioner assesses the person and reports back to the judge, the defence lawyer, and the crown prosecutor

Mental Disorders If an accused is found not guilty by mental disorder, the judge has a choice: make an order concerning the person or refer the case to a review board. If the judge makes an order, there are three choices available: An absolute discharge Done if the mentally ill person is not a threat to the public. A conditional discharge A term in a psychiatric hospital

Mental Disorders If the judge does not make an order and refers the case to the review board, the board has a hearing and makes a decision. The review board has the same three choices as the judge: absolute discharge, conditional discharge, term in psychiatric hospital.

Intoxication Ordinarily, intoxication by alcohol or drugs is no excuse Ex: In criminal law, a person who gets drunk and commits a criminal act is usually still responsible for his or her actions when drunk Intoxication may be a defense for a narrow range of offences, such as murder or theft; these offences require the accused person to form a specific intent. A specific intent means the accused thinks about and intends a particular result, such as the intent to kill in murder cases

Intoxication A person may be so intoxicated that he/she was unable to form this intent to kill. In this example, the accused person may not be convicted of murder, but could be convicted of manslaughter Long-term drunkenness or abuse of drugs may cause a person's health to deteriorate so that a mental disorder results. In that case, the accused person may not be criminally responsible for his/her actions and could use a defence of mental disorder.

Entrapment and Abuse of Process The police may carry out undercover activities to detect crime In doing so, they may legally present a person with the opportunity to commit a crime, but they may not harass, bribe, or otherwise induce the person to break the law. Police conduct that induces criminal behaviour is called "entrapment“ The accused person must prove entrapment

Sherman v. United States, 356 U. S Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369 (1958), was a United States Supreme Court case on the issue of entrapment. Unanimously, the Court overturned the conviction of a recovering New York drug addict who had been repeatedly solicited for drug sales by a fellow former addict who was working with federal agents.

Special Pleas A person who has been tried for an offence cannot be tried again for a similar offence arising out of the same facts.