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Contextualizing Criminal Defences: Exploring The Contribution Of Justice Bertha Wilson, Isabel Grant, Debra Parkes

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The authors survey the opinions of Justice Wilson in three important criminal defence cases: R. v. Perka, R. V. Hill, and R. v. Lavallee. These cases reveal the development of her understanding of equality in criminal law, ranging from a formal individualistic understanding of equality in Perka through to a nuanced substantive approach to equality in Lavallee. Next, the authors discuss two different ways that context figures in those opinions, to: (1) understand the accused's actions, and (2) to locate the defence itself in its social and historical context to reveal biases and inequalities reflected therein. Finally, the authors examine …