Presenter:
Lisa Kerr, Associate Professor, Queen's University, Director of the Criminal Law Group, Queen's Law.
Date and time:
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Description of the session:
A large number of criminal law matters arise from a context involving drugs and alcohol, raising the issue of addiction or substance use disorder and its possible relevance to both liability and sentencing. In serious cases, especially those involving a co-occurring disorder, these issues may bear upon fitness or the issue of criminal responsibility. More often, the question of diminished responsibility arising from addiction is simply transferred to sentencing. This talk will look at the key doctrinal issues arising from cases in which addiction is presented at sentencing in service of mitigation, tracing the state of the law and offering critical commentary. This talk will also canvass the degree to which Canadian criminal law is receptive to developments and key insights from the neuroscience of addiction.
Participants may claim 1.5 CPD credits.
To register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_09OAp92KRAOFSvpo1mhCeQ
Criminal Scholars Series is a co-production of the Criminal Defense Advocacy Society and Courthouse Libraries BC.