The Criminal Code Of Canada

Canada’s Criminal Justice system offers youth justice courts which have exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving young persons. They are specialized so that they only handle cases involving young persons. Youth cases are also held in their own courtrooms in local courthouses. These youth courts are open to the public like all Canadian courts, but due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, youth still have privacy rights the identifies of youth cannot be publicized, unlike in adult court.

Many court cases involve some type of syndrome-based defense, whether it be anything from battered women’s syndrome to Vietnam syndrome to fetal alcohol syndrome to attention deficit disorder. In these cases, the accused tries to use their disease or disorder as a reason to get a not guilty charge. A syndrome-based defense is a defense based on the acceptability of syndrome-related claims. Since syndromes are viewed as diseases or disorders, we might anticipate the development based on other disorders, perhaps Alzheimer’s, alcoholism, or drug addiction.

According to Psychology Today (2012), the insanity defense is defined as an individual who is being charged of a crime that can recognize that he or she committed the crime, but argues that they are not responsible for it because of their mental breakdown during the crime, by pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity.” While this defense is considered to be a legal strategy, it can also be seen as an indication of what society may believe; “it reflects society 's belief that the law should not

Canada's Justice System It’s a common belief that western nations believe that their own justice system is blind, and that all people are equal before the eyes of the law. Whether or not that’s true is an entirely different scenario. Canadians take pride in our open mind approach to and acceptance of all cultures, multiculturalism is what makes this Canada so unique and great.

The insanity defense has become popularized by criminal television shows, but it is not used as portrayed. According to Dr. Zachary Torry, a psychiatrist, the defense is actually used in one percent of cases and not even one-fourth of those cases will succeed in front of a jury (Torry). Furthermore, the legal definition of insanity is very different than the societal definition. As stated by George Blau, a criminal defense lawyer, “insane” does not describe someone who is psychotic or crazy, but it instead describes someone who does not know the difference between right or wrong. They are found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) because one of the three traits of a crime is not evident. The three traits are a guilty mind (mens rea), a prohibited act, and a pre-established sentence (Blau). For the insane, there is no mens rea because someone cannot feel guilty for an act that they do not know is wrong. Therefore, those found NGRI have a different punishment than those convicted of a crime. Their sentence is often time at a mental institution where treatment is available, but the sentences can be irregular and unchecked by government associations. Therefore, the insanity defense may need to be amended, by requiring monitoring of the cases and adopting the mens rea approach or to be completely abolished because of its potential improper use and a lack of proof.

Since our justice system is designed to punish those who have deliberately chosen to do something wrong, there is a defence for those who have a “disease of the mind” (Verdun-Jones, Criminal Law in Canada, 2015, p. 206) because they, technically speaking, did not choose to do so in their right mind. Such defence is the defence of “not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder” (Verdun-Jones, Criminal Law in Canada, 2015, p. 204). As stated in section 16(1) of the Criminal Code (Carswell, 2015):

The Canadian criminal justice system consists of multiple roles in order to sustain a well-working government system. The system is put in place in order to keep safety, equality, peace and fairness. There are four main functions of the criminal justice system that are interrelated segments that help protect a society from crime. The criminal justice system consists of policing, courts, corrections and parole. The component of the Canadian Criminal Justice System that will be discussed is about the process and function of the courts.

     The laws of the United States have been revised numerous times, and the Criminal Code of Canada is similar. The Criminal Code is a systematically arranged body of law dealing with crime. The code has been revised multiple times over the past century by the federal government

The Canadian Criminal Justice System is, for the most part, reflective of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and various Supreme Court of Canada case-law. Everyone who finds themselves on the opposing end of the Criminal Justice System is entitled to certain protections every step of the way, beginning even before the arrest; laws protect us from unreasonable investigative techniques, guarantee certain rights at point of arrest, and provide us with the right to counsel. The bail court departs from the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard in that the crown only needs to prove on a balance of probabilities (Kellough, 1996, p. 175) in order to take away a person’s freedom. It is for this reason I decided to limit the scope of my

The insanity defense “is traditionally classified as an excuse defense, in contrast with justification defenses like self-defense. This classification indicates

Bullying is an important topic in society because it continues to be a problem for individuals whether they are in school, at work or even at home. Bullying can be demonstrated verbally and/or physically. In other words, it is when one hurts or threatens to harm a person to do his/her wantings. It is controversial whether Canadian law has adequately addressed this topic. Bullying has indeed been addressed properly throughout Canada’s law system in various ways. The goal of this essay is to show that the justice system has made many laws and regulations to help victims or anyone involved in the bullying through the many bills created to amend existing acts, the created action plans against bullying and laws that are created in the Criminal Code.

Filicide can be defined as the act of murdering one’s own child or children; acts of filicide are normally projected loudly in media. There are cases of filicide in which the defense of the accused, plead as not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder referred to as NCRMD. In order to submit the verdict of NCRMD, the criminal act must have been committed at a time in which the accused had already been previously diagnosed with a mental disorder; therefore, resulting in the prevention of understanding the act and its quality. Similarly, in the R. v. Schoenborn case, Schoenborn sought for defence of NCRMD while being charged with first-degree murder for his three children. He had been attempting to fix his relationship with his life partner but was rejected; thereafter, he brutally murdered their children in his partner’s trailer home in Merritt, British Columbia. He was found NCRMD in April 2008 and was held at the psychiatric hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Recently, he has been granted day passes to be in the community outside of the psychiatric facility. There are many cases like this one, where different factors lead to the act of filicide. These factors associated to filicide may be situational, including separation, substance abuse and various others. There are numerous filicide cases in which NCRMD is included; therefore, making it evident that mental health is a significant risk factor. It is essential that one assesses what

Image a life where you have difficulty defending yourself and nobody can clearly understand you. Now visualize trying to convince others that you are innocent of a crime. Since the early 80s, more than sixty mentally ill criminals have been executed the US (Mental Illness on Death Row). This paper will discuss the relationship between the law and the challenges faced by mentally criminals from tries to appeals and execution. It provides examples of some of the more famous cases of the execution of the mentally ill and describes current legislative. But we would try answer the whether the mentally disabled criminals should be charged with a death penalty. Throughout this paper, we will use Borromeo 's definition of someone with mental issues. He stated "mental retardation is a lifelong condition of impaired or incomplete mental development..." ( Borromeo 178). Some examples of these illnesses include but are not limited to major depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder .

According to the text, these individuals can receive an absolute discharge, a conditional discharge, or detention in a forensic psychiatric hospital. The last one seemed more common. According to the textbook, the majority of individuals found NCRMD are initially detained in psychiatric hospitals or forensic institutions for a period of confinement and treatment of their mental disorder, and in some jurisdictions, insanity acquittees are held longer than convicted individuals. Same as prisoners, they had no liberty. Furthermore, involuntary treatment characterized as drug use, is often involved. In fact, the overuse of medication in treatments is one core debate in the field of psychiatry. The side effect of drugs are prevalent, and many scholars ask this question: psychiatrists want to help their clients or just sale drugs for profits? To normal patients, they have the right to deny the medical recommendation in their treatments. However, persons found NCRMD are often forced to receive medication in hospitals. I mean, this kind of treatment is a help or a punishment, especially while the medication is so controversial in psychiatric treatment? In some cases, persons found NCRMD were held in a long period when they had no liberty and being forced to take medicine simultaneously. So, what is the benefit of being found

A significant and controversial issue within the legal system is the ‘insanity defense’ in which during a criminal trial, the defendant will make a claim that they are not guilty by reason of insanity, or in other words, they have deficient and impaired cognitive and mental capabilities. These mental health problems associated with insanity are caused by psychopathological disorders, which may have led to their dysfunction. What separates this from a regular plead of ‘diminished capacity’ is that a plea of insanity is a full defense rather than just a partial defense (Legal information institute, n.d.). With the diminished capacity defense, the defendant’s mental competence is still the focus, although they are pleading to a lesser crime