R. v. Lavallee (1990)
- In 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada made a historical ruling that recognized battered woman syndrome as a murder defence, which set a legal precedent for women's rights to self defence.
- The case came about from a woman names Angelique Lynn Lavallee who was in an abusive common law relationship and after a particularly serious fight with serious threats involved, she killed her partner out of self-defence.
- The judgement was made by Justice Bertha Wilson and the courts held that 'battered woman syndrome' was a mental condition justifiable in the present case.
Citation
R. v. Lavallee [1990] S.C.R. 852, 1990. https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/599/index.do
Further Readings
For a detailed background of the case: https://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/MR/mr60-e.htm
Overlapping Topics
Federal Government Affairs
Policy Sub-Topic
Policy Type
Supreme Court Case