The cultural defense /

Publisher's description: In a trial in California, Navajo defendants argue that using the hallucinogen peyote to achieve spiritual exaltation is protected by the Constitution's free exercise of religion clause, trumping the states' right to regulate them. An Ibo man from Nigeria sues...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Renteln, Alison Dundes
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004
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003 OCoLC
005 20060301031338.0
008 020515s2004 enk b 001 0 eng
010 |a 2002071523 
020 |a 0195154029 (cloth : alk. paper) 
040 |a DLC  |c DLC  |d WSL  |d YBM  |d BAKER 
049 |a VLAM 
050 0 0 |a K5455  |b .R46 2004 
100 1 |a Renteln, Alison Dundes 
245 1 4 |a The cultural defense /  |c Alison Dundes Renteln 
260 |a Oxford [England] ;  |a New York :  |b Oxford University Press,  |c 2004 
300 |a viii, 404 p. ;  |c 24 cm 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-390) and index 
505 0 |a I: Law and culture -- Why culture matters for justice -- II: Culture conflicts in the courtroom -- Homicide -- Children -- Drugs -- Animals -- Marriage -- Attire -- The dead -- III: Toward a principle of maximum accommodation -- The cultural defense in theory and practice -- The right to culture 
520 |a Publisher's description: In a trial in California, Navajo defendants argue that using the hallucinogen peyote to achieve spiritual exaltation is protected by the Constitution's free exercise of religion clause, trumping the states' right to regulate them. An Ibo man from Nigeria sues Pan American World Airways for transporting his mother's corpse in a cloth sack. Her arrival for the funeral face down in a burlap bag signifies death by suicide according to the customs of her Ibo kin, and brings great shame to the son. In Los Angeles, two Cambodian men are prosecuted for attempting to eat a four month-old puppy. The immigrants' lawyers argue that the men were following their own "national customs" and do not realize their conduct is offensive to "American sensibilities." What is the just decision in each case? When cultural practices come into conflict with the law is it legitimate to take culture into account? Is there room in modern legal systems for a cultural defense? In this remarkable book, Alison Dundes Renteln amasses hundreds of cases from the U.S. and around the world in which cultural issues take center stage-from the mundane to the bizarre, from drugs to death. Though cultural practices vary dramatically, Renteln demonstrates that there are discernible patterns to the cultural arguments used in the courtroom. The regularities she uncovers offer judges a starting point for creating a body of law that takes culture into account. Renteln contends that a systematic treatment of culture in law is not only possible, but ultimately more equitable. A just pluralistic society requires a legal system that can assess diverse motivations and can recognize the key role that culture plays in influencing human behavior. The inclusion of evidence of cultural background is necessary for the fair hearing of a case 
650 0 |a Defense (Criminal procedure)  |x Sociological aspects 
650 0 |a Actions and defenses  |x Sociological aspects 
650 0 |a Culture and law 
907 |a .b1891674 
998 |a lower 
999 |c 75213 
852 |a Law Library  |b Lower Level  |h K5455 .R46 2004  |p 33940003208947