CLU3M - Law

Unit 3 The Criminal Code

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The Criminal Code

Agenda:
Introduction to the

Criminal Code
Violent Crimes

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Introduction The Criminal Code

Criminal code

Reflects the social values of Canadians

Federal statute
Main body of criminal law
Offences listed and described precisely

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To ensure people are not arrested on a criminal

charge if they are involved in non-criminal matter
To ensure someone is not set free on a
technicality

Introduction The Criminal Code

cont.
301,875 Violent incidents

Criminal Code Incidents

(2000)

Other 3%
Sexual

24 million Criminal
Code incidents

Robbery 9%

Assault
8%
Assault

Other 34 %

Level 2,3
Violent Incidents

15%
Assault
level 1
65%

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Violent
Incidents
13%

Property 53%

Violent Crime In Canada (2007)

Province / Territory

Rate per 100 000 ppl

Alberta

1.9

BC

2.1

Man

2.6

NB

1.3

NFL & Labrador

1.1

NWT

2.4

NS

1.6

Nunavut

10.8

Ont

1.3

PEI

2.2

Quebec

2.0

Sask

2.5

Homicide Rates (2000) Yukon

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6.5
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What is the murder capital of

Canada?
Winnipeg!

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Homicide in Canada

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How are Crime Rates Determined?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-pnH

QPWXc

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Violent Crimes
Harm to the human body.
Historically a part of criminal law (Code of
Hammurabi)
About 13% of all criminal code offences are of
a violent nature.
Including:

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Homicide
Assault
Sexual offences
Abduction
Robbery
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Homicide

homicide

Killing another human

being, directly or
indirectly, is homicide

Culpable homicide

Accident

Its a criminal offence if

its culpable (deserving

of blame)
Murder,
manslaughter, and
infanticide

non-culpable homicide

murder
First
degree

manslaughter

Selfdefence

infanticide

Second
degree

Non-culpable homicide is not criminal and occurs when death is

caused by complete accident or in self- defense

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Murder
1.

First degree

2.

The deliberate murder of a human . Not Planned

Max Penalty 25 years with no parole for 10 years

Causation: Cause of death. Necessary to prove causation in

order to convict a person of first-degree murder

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This is planned &deliberate (considered consequences)

Victim is in law enforcement
Offense occurs offensive crime is being committed
Max Penalty Life with no parole for 25 years

Second degree (intentional murder yet does not fit into any of
the above categories

Intentional killing of another personalthough can be charged without intent

Crown must prove that the accused actions resulted in a

substantial cause of death in the victim
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Manslaughter

Causing death of a human, directly or indirectly, by means of an

unlawful act

Not murder rather it requires only general intent

Example: Speeding down a road, crash into a little old lady and kill
her.

The mens rea - a reasonable person would recognize that the

unlawful act could physically harm or kill the victim.

0-25 years

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Manslaughter Defence

When someone charged with murder is convicted of

manslaughter

1.

Provocation: In the heart of passion (caused by provocation)

2.

Intoxication: (affects the persons ability to predict the

consequences of their actions

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Provoked by a wrongful act / insult,

Must be something that would cause an ordinary person
to lose self-control (excepting drug / alcohol)

Crown must prove both the killing and the necessary

intent if the accused uses the intoxication defence
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Manslaughter continued
The law generally differentiates between levels
of criminal culpability based on the mens rea,
or state of mind
Voluntary Manslaughter
occurs when the defendant kills with malice
(intention to kill or cause serious harm), but
there are mitigating circumstances which
reduce culpability
or when the defendant kills only with an intent
to cause serious bodily harm
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Manslaughter continued
Involuntary Manslaughter
is the unlawful killing of a human being
without malice (intent). It is distinguished
from voluntary manslaughter by the absence
of intention.
1. constructive manslaughter

2.

criminally negligent manslaughter

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It occurs when someone kills, without intent, in

the course of committing an unlawful act
an omission to act when there is a duty to do so
which leads to a death
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SOWHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE?
As an illustration, consider the following scenario.

Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor.

Distraught, Dan heads to a local bar to drown his
sorrows. After having five drinks, Dan jumps into his
car and drives down the street at twice the posted
speed limit.
If Dan had killed Victor in a "heat of passion" at the
time he discovered the affair, then he could be
charged with voluntary manslaughter. However, if Dan
instead accidentally hit and killed a pedestrian while
driving recklessly and intoxicated, he could be
charged with involuntary manslaughter.
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R. v. Lavallee
Lavallee and her common law partner Rust (the victim) had an abusive

relationship, however she kept coming back. On the night of the killing, there
was a party at their house. Rust hit her and told her that she was going to
"get it" when all the guests left. He threatened to harm her, saying "either you
kill me or I'll get you". During the altercation Rust slapped her, pushed her
and hit her twice on the head. At some point during the altercation he handed
Lavallee a gun, which she first fired through a screen. Lavallee contemplated
shooting herself, however when Rust turned around to leave the room she
shot him in the back of the head. She was charged with murder. A psychiatrist
gave expert evidence at trial describing her state of mind, and that she felt as
though she was "trapped" and that she would have been killed if she did not
kill him. The jury acquitted her at trial, but this was overturned at the Court of
Appeal who ordered a new trial. Lavallee appealed this order to the Supreme
Court.
QUESTION: Is Lavallee guilty of murder? If so is it first degree, second

degree, or manslaughter?
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Battered Women Syndrome

The battered person syndrome first rose to

prominence in the 1970s, when it was used as a legal

defense for abused women who murdered their
husbands in a pre-meditated fashion. Defense
lawyers used the syndrome to explain premeditation
as follows: the woman could not leave the
relationship due to learned helplessness. Nor could
they fight back when actually being attacked. In the
face of increasing violence, the woman's belief was
that the only way she could protect herself and her
children was to eliminate the partner when he was
more vulnerable, for example, while sleeping.
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Who is Meredith Katharine?

Between 2008 and 2010, Meredith Katharine Borowiec

gave birth to three babies in her Calgary home. Each

time, she wrapped the newborn in a towel, tied it up in a
garbage bag and put it in a dumpster. The first two
were lost forever, but the third, a boy, was rescued in
October 2010, leading to her arrest, as she observed
the scene. A police officer noticed blood on the blanket
she wore wrapped around her waist, and EMS
personnel noticed stretch marks on her abdomen. She
soon admitted what she had done.
Is Meredith Katherine guilty?
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Infanticide
Killing of a newborn by his or her

mother
Accused not yet recovered from the

effects of child-birth and is suffering

from depression or mental
disturbance (possibly hormones)
Max sentence: imprisonment 5

years
Charges seldom seen before the

courts
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The End

* This next section will not be part of the

quiz

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Suicide and Euthanasia

Offence to counsel anyone

to commit suicide or to help

them accomplish the deed
Until 1972 offense to

commit suicide
Assisted Suicide a

controversial issue

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For
Some
chronically ill
Canadians
believe they
have a right to
be assistance
when they wish
to commit
suicide

Against
Disability rights
groups oppose
believing that
people who have
disabilities may
be pressured to
end their lives

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Euthanasia
Mercy killing: A person acts to end another

persons life

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Assisting a suicide
Voluntary euthanasia When you help a
terminally ill person (whom has expressed a wish
to die) end their life
Involuntary euthanasia -When you help a
terminally ill person (whom has expressed a wish
to die) end their life
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R. v. Latimer
Robert Latimer's daughter, Tracy Latimer, was 12 years old

and had cerebral palsy. As a result, she was quadriplegic,

could not speak, and had the mental abilities of an infant.
However, she was not dying of her disability. It was also
believed that a feeding tube could help keep her healthy,
but her parents believed that such a medical device would
be intrusive. Thus, numerous surgeries were performed,
and after the scheduling of another surgery in 1993, Mr.
Latimer, formed the view that his daughters life was not
worth living. Mr. Latimer thus poisoned his daughter with
carbon monoxide. When police made the discovery, Mr.
Latimer denied responsibility, but later admitted that the had
killed her.

Question: Is Robert Latimer guilty? OR was he just

worried about his daughters quality of life?

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R v. Sue Rodriguez
Sue Rodriguez was a 42-year-old mother whose illness amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis (ALS or "Lou Gehrig's disease") was diagnosed in 1992.

By 1993 it was found that she would not live more than a year, and so
she began a crusade to strike down section 241(b) of the Criminal Code,
which made assisted suicide illegal, to the extent that it would be illegal
for a terminally ill person to commit "physician-assisted" suicide.
She applied to the Supreme Court of British Columbia to have section

241(b) of Criminal Code struck down as it violated sections 7 (the right to

"life, liberty, and security of the person), 12 (protection against "cruel and
unusual punishment"), and 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (equality)
QUESTION: Should people have the right to make their own

decisions about when they want to end their life?

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Violent Crimes continued

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Assault
C. Criminal Code has recently amended its laws on

assault due to societies growing concern.

Defined asapplying intentional force to another

person directly or indirectly with out consent.

Key to assault Intent. If the action is the result of

carelessness or reflex, rather than intent no

assault

A threat can be an assault if there is an ability to carry

it out at the time it is made

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Serious assault (levels 2 and 3), police-reported

rate, 1983 to 2009

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Assault continued
3 Levels of Assault

Level 3 - Aggravated Assault

Level 2 Assault Causing Bodily Harm

Level 1 - Assault

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Assault 1
Applying intentional force to another person, either directly or

indirectly, without that persons consent

Attempting or threatening, by an act or gesture, to apply force

Approaching or blocking the way of another person, while

openly carrying a weapon or an imitation of a weapon

Harmful words not an assault if not accompanied with a

gesture
Consent not necessarily given because someone
participates in an activity

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Olympic Boxer consents to being hit with gloved fists, not to

being bitten, kicked or eyegouged.
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Assault 2 Causing bodily harm

When someone, while committing assault,

carries, uses, or threatens to use a weapon

or imitation of a weapon
Causes bodily harm

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Anything that interferes with the victims health or

comfort in more than a momentary, insignificant
way

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Assault 3 Aggravated Assault

Most severe assault
When a person maims, disfigures, or

endangers the life of the victim

Mens rea only to commit bodily harm
Defense of consent may not be accepted in

some circumstances of this level of assault

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Sexual assault
Sexual Assault laws rewritten in the 1980s
Three levels - similar to the 3 levels of assault.
Important considerations when distinguishing sexual assault

Conduct must have occurred in a sexual context

Body part touched
Nature of the contact
Situation in with the assault took place

Actus reus of sexual assault is the sexual touching to which the

victim does not consent

The mens rea of sexual assault can rest in knowledge that the

victim gave no consent; recklessness; or willful blindness

(perpetrator avoids asking the victim if consent is being given).

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Sexual Assault

Level 1

Same as assault 1, except that it occurred in relation to

sexual conduct
Level 2

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272(1) Every person who, in committing a sexual assault:

1.
Carries, uses or threatens to use a weapon or an imitation of
a weapon
2.
Threatens to cause bodily harm to a person other than the
complainant
3.
Caused bodily harm to the complainant
4.
Is a party to the offence with any other person, is guilty of an
indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 14 years general intent offence
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Sexual Assault continued

Level 3 Aggravated sexual assault

Section 273:
(1)

(2)

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Most severe form of sexual assault

Every one who commits an aggravated sexual

assault who, in the committing a sexual assault,
wounds, maims, disfigures or endangers the life
of the complainant
Every person who commits an aggravated
sexual assault is guilty of an indictable offense
and liable to imprisonment for life.
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Other Sexual Offenses

Law protects young people from being pressured into

sexual relationships with older people

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Forbidden to touch for sexual purposes, a part of the

body of a person under 14
Consent irrelevant unless the accused is less than 3
years older than the victim
Forbidden to touch for sexual purposes. If you are in
a position of authority, the body of a person under 18,
or the person is in a relationship of trust or
dependency with the accused
Not knowing the age of the victim is NOT a valid
defense.
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Other Sexual Offenses continued

General offenses
Commit bestiality
Commit indecent acts in public places
Commit incest
In the home of a person under 18, participate
in sexual immorality thereby endangering the
morals of the child or rendering the home as
an unfit place for a child to be in
Exploit sexually a person with a mental or
physical disability

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Abduction

Few child abduction cases involve strangers

Abduction: The forcible removal of an unmarried person under

the age of 16 from the care of a parent/guardian etc.
(including foster parents)

Divorce is increasing abduction is increasing! different charge

Enticing:
1. When a custodial parent refuses to give access to a child
according to the terms of an agreement
2. When a non-custodial parent detains or runs away with a
child during a time of access
Defense: a) the other parent gave consent or
b) to protect the child

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Robbery
Theft involving violence

Threat of violence
Assault
Use of offensive weapons
Imitation of weapon is accepted by the courts as threat of
violence
Masking or colouring ones face with the intent to commit an
indictable offense

Crown bases its case on the threat of violence

Must prove that the victim felt threatened

Reasonable and probable grounds for the fear

Max = life
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Robbery, police-reported rate,

Canada, 1979 to 2009

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Review (text pages 220-245)

Questions:
What constitutes a violent crime?
Distinguish between culpable and non-culpable homicides
Identify the mens rea and actus reus of murder
Distinguish between first- and second-degree murder and
describe the penalties for each
5.
Identify the mens rea and actus reus of manslaughter
6.
Under what circumstances could a charge of murder be
reduced to manslaughter?
7.
Identify the factors that must be present for a culpable
homicide to be considered infanticide.
8.
Distinguish among the three levels of assault
9.
Distinguish among the three levels of sexual assault
10. In what situation is consent not a defence to sexual assault?
1.
2.
3.
4.

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