Defence Key Terminology

Battered Woman Syndrome

A pattern of signs and symptoms displayed by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner
violence.

Mistake of Fact
When a criminal defendant misunderstands some fact that negates the crime.

Culpability
Responsibility for wrongdoing or failure.

Mistake of Law
Legal defence that says the accused misunderstood the law and did not have the intent to commit the
crime.

Intoxication
The state of having lack of mental or physical control due to alcohol and/or drugs.

Balance of Probabilities
The way a judge makes decisions about some legal issues.

M’Naghten’s Rules
The M’Naghten rule states that a person may be insane if at the time of committing the crime, the accused
person was under the effect of mental illness and did not know the nature and quality of the act he was
doing.

Mental Order Defence

No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a
mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or
omission or of knowing that it was wrong.

Automatism

Self Defence

Provocation

Entrapment

Necessity

Duress
Corporal Punishment Defence

Denunciation

Specific Deterrence

General Deterrence

Rehabilitation

Sanction

Reparations

Restorative Justice

Sentencing Circles

Proportionality

Aggravating Factors

Mitigating Factors

Parity

Totality

Consecutive

Restraint

Intermittent

Dangerous Offender

Indeterminate Sentence

Absolute Discharge

Conditional Discharge

Restitution
Victim Impact Statement

Victim Surcharge