1. Defences for the Accused

2. Defence
Once an accused pleads not guilty to a criminal charge they must provide a defence.
Defence: a denial of, or a justification for, criminal behaviour.
Denial: is the most common used defence.

3. Mental States
The mental state of the accused at the time the alleged offence has an impact on whether the accused can be held criminally responsible for the offence.
Before a trial can proceed, the court has to determine whether the accused is mentally fit to understand the proceeding

4. Mental Disorder
Mental disorder: defined in the Criminal Code as a “disease of the mind”.
With an accused suffers from a disorder they are unable to form mens rea of the offence.

5. Automatism
Automatism: a condition in which a person acts without being aware of what he or she is doing.
Sleep walking
Wrong medications
Concussion
Two types:
Insane automatism : a form of automatism caused by mental disorder
Non-insane automatism: a form of automatism caused by an external factor

6. Intoxication
Intoxication: the condition of being overpowered by alcohol or drugs to the point of losing self-control.
Generally intoxication is not a defence to a crime, but there are exceptions.
Read R v Johnson, page 253
Read R v Lemky, page 257

7. Justification
Self-Defence: the use of reasonable force to defend against an attack
Battered Woman Syndrome: not a true defence but a state of mind
Defence of a Dwelling: the extension of self-defence on the protection of a dwelling.
Dwelling house: any building or other structure that is occupied on a permanent or temporary basis

8. Necessity : a defence stating that the accused had no reasonable alternative to committing an illegal act.
Compulsion or Duress : a defence in which the accused person is forced by the threat of violence to commit a criminal act against their will.
Provocation : words or actions that are insulting enough to cause an ordinary person to lose self-control
Aboriginal or Treaty Rights : certain laws do not apply to aboriginal peoples.

9. Other Defences Mistake of law: ignorance of the law.
This one does not work for an accused.
Officially induced error : a defence that the accused relied on erroneous legal advice from an official responsible for enforcing a particular law.
Mistake of fact: a defence that the accused made an honest mistake that lead to the breaking of the law

10. Double jeopardy : the legal doctrine that an accused person cannot be tried twice for the same offence
Alibi: a defence raised by the accused claiming that he or she was somewhere else when the offence was committed.
Entrapment: a defence against police conduct that illegally induces the defendant to commit a criminal act