Citation

Glancy G, Patel K. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Publisher American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

10.29158/JAAPL.210138-21

PMID

35705232

Abstract

Automatism has long been a significant topic of discussion between forensic psychiatry and the courts. In a recent case, the Ontario Court of Appeal addressed this concept in the setting of a Canadian law, s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code, that limits the defense of self-induced intoxication for any offense involving violence. The court found that s. 33.1 violated the presumption of innocence and the principles of fundamental justice and could not be saved by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as it was not demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society. Therefore, the court declared s. 33.1 to be of no force and effect. In this article, we describe the legal history of automatism in Canadian courts and the reasoning behind this important decision. Finally, we discuss some implications for forensic practice.

Language: en

Keywords

criminal responsibility; automatism; self-induced intoxication