¹ The debate over the cultural defense is taking place in countries across the globe such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States. See, e.g. Van Broeck, Jeroen, “Cultural Defence and Culturally Motivated Crimes (Cultural Offences)” (2001) 9 Eur. J. Crime, Crim. L. & Crim. J. 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Bronitt, Simon & Amirthalingam, Kumaralingam, “Cultural Blindness: Criminal Law in Multicultural Australia” (1996) 21:2Alt. L.J. 58Google Scholar; Poulter, Sebastian, Ethnicity, Law, and Human Rights: The English Experience (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998)Google Scholar; Phillips, Anne, “When Culture Means Gender: Issues of Cultural Defence in English Courts” (2003) 66 Mod. L. Rev. 510CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Wong, Charmaine M., “Good Intentions, Troublesome Applications: The Cultural Defence and Other Uses of Cultural Evidence in Canada” (1999) 42:2–3Crim. L.Q. 367Google Scholar; Woo, Deborah, “Cultural ‘Anomalies’ and Cultural Defenses: towards an integrated theory of homicide and suicide” (2004) 32 Int'l J. Soc. L. 279CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Carstens, Pieter A., “The Cultural Defense in Criminal Law: South African Perspectives” (2004) 2 De Jure 312.Google Scholar See also the essays on Folk Law in Conflict in Renteln, Alison Dundes & Dundes, Alan, eds., Folk Law: Essays in the Theory and Practice of Lex Non Scripta (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995).Google Scholar

² The challenge is to persuade courts to consider cultural motives. For a comprehensive treatment of culture in the context of criminal defenses, see Renteln, Alison Dundes, “A Justification of the Cultural Defense as Partial Excuse” (1993) 2 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Women's Stud. 437.Google Scholar

³ For a more complete argument, see Renteln, Alison Dundes, The Cultural Defense (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004)Google Scholar [Cultural Defense]. See also Renteln, , “Visual Religious Symbols and the Law” (2004) 47 American Behavioral Scientist 1573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁴ 19 December 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171, Can. T.S. 1976 No. 47, 6 I.L.M. 368 (entered into force 23 March 1976, accession by Canada 19 May 1976).

⁵ Ibid., at art. 27.

⁶ The Human Rights Committee issues policy statements clarifying the scope of rights in the form of general comments. For its interpretation of art. 27, see General Comment No. 23: The rights of minorities (Art. 27), OHCHR, 50th sess., CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5 (1994).

⁷ Renteln, Alison Dundes, “Cultural Rights” in Baltes, Paul & Smelser, Neil, eds., International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Oxford: Elsevier, 2002).Google ScholarRenteln, , “In Defense of Culture in the Courtroom” in Shweder, Rick, Minow, Martha, & Rose-Markus, Hazel, eds., Engaging Cultural Differences: The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies (New York: Russell Sage, 2002).Google Scholar

⁸ One of the earlier articles on this subject emphasized how crucial it is to ensure consideration of evidence. Diamond, Bernard L., “Social and Cultural Factors as a Diminished Capacity Defense in Criminal Law” (1978) 6 Bull. Am. Acad. Psychiatry & L. 195 at 203.Google ScholarPubMed

⁹ Cultural Defense, supra note 3.

¹⁰ Ibid., at 207.

¹¹ See e.g. Slate v. Kargar, 679 A. 2d 81 (Me. 1996). See also Wanderer, Nancy A. & Connors, Catherine R., “Culture and Crime: Kargar and the Existing Framework for a Cultural Defense” (1999) 47 Buff. L. Rev. 829.Google Scholar

¹² For an account of this case, see Hugh Downs & Barbara Walters “We Want Our Children Back” 20/20 (18 August 1995) (Nexis) [Krasniqi].

¹³ Most crimes require only mens rea (intent) and actus reus (act). Specific intent crimes also require proof of the motive or reason for the action. To be guilty of child sexual abuse, a parent must intend to touch the child, must touch the child, and must do so for sexual gratification. Otherwise parents would be unable to bathe their children or change their diapers.

¹⁴ Krasniqi, supra note 12.

¹⁵ Cultural Defense, supra note 3 at 59. Touching children in the genital area should probably be discouraged not only because parents will encounter difficulty with the law, but also because children caught between two cultures may feel uncomfortable if they realize it is considered inappropriate conduct in the larger society. But incarcerating parents or breaking up families are illegitimate means of inculcating new values.

¹⁶ It is a partial excuse that reduces a charge of murder to one of manslaughter.

¹⁷ Trujillo-Garcia v. Rowland, U.S. 6199 (Dist. Ct., 1992) (Lexis); U.S. 30441 (App. Ct., 1993) (Lexis), 114 S Ct 2145; U.S. 4219 (Dist. Ct. 1994) (Lexis), 128 L. Ed 873, 62 USLW 3793.

¹⁸ For analysis of the term “chingar” see Paz, Octavio, “The Sons of La Malinche” in Paz, , The Labyrinth of Solitude: Life and Thought in Mexico (New York: Grove Press, 1961).Google Scholar See also Cultural Defense, supra note 3 at 34–35.

¹⁹ For a thoughtful treatment of the dilemma of a defendant from another culture seeking to use the provocation defense, see Yeo, Stanley M. H., “Recent Australian Pronouncements on the Ordinary Person Test in Provocation and Automatism” (1990–1991) 33 Crim. L.Q. 280Google Scholar; Yeo, Stanley M. H., “Provoking the ‘Ordinary’ Ethnic Person: A Juror's Predicament” (1987) 11 Crim L.J. 96.Google Scholar

²⁰ See e.g. Winkelman, Michael, “Cultural Factors in Criminal Defense Proceedings” (1996) 55:2Human Organization 154CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Clinton, Olabisi L., “Cultural Differences and Sentencing Departures” (1993) 5 Federal Sentencing Reporter 348CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Holmquist, Kristen L., “Cultural Defense or False Stereotype? What Happens When Latina Defendants Collide with the Federal Sentencing Guidelines” (1997) 12 Berkeley Women's L.J. 45Google Scholar; Murray, Yxta Maya, “The Battered Woman Syndrome and the Cultural Defense” (1995) 7 Federal Sentencing Reporter 197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

²¹ Siripongs v. Calderon, 35 F. 3d 1308 (9^th Cir. Ct. 1994), denial of cert. 512 US 1183 (1995); 133 F. 3d 732 (1998).

²² As he was present during the commission of the crime, he was technically eligible to receive the death penalty under the felony murder rule whether or not he pulled the trigger. Nevertheless, a jury might have seen fit to spare his life had they believed someone else had actually committed the murder.

²³ For more on this case, see Cultural Defense, supra note 3 at 43.

²⁴ Friedman v. State, 282 N.Y.S. 2d 858 (1967), 54 Misc. 2d 448.

²⁵ People v. Rhines, 131 Cal. App. 3d 498 (1982) [Rhines].

²⁶ For another case involving racism, see also Fournier, Pascale, “The Ghettoisation of Differences in Canada: ‘Rape by Culture’ and the Danger of a ‘Cultural Defense’ in Criminal Law Trials” (2002) 8 Man. L.J. 88.Google Scholar

²⁷ Rhines, supra note 25 at 507.

²⁸ Mrozek, Thorn “Accused Wife Killer to Claim Mental Abuse” Los Angles Times (7 May 1993) B 1.Google Scholar

²⁹ Tugend, Tom “‘Cultural Defense’ plea gets sentence lowered” The Jerusalem Post (29 March 1994) 3.Google Scholar

³⁰ Mrozek, Thorn “Cultural Defense in Wife's Death” Los Angeles Times (4 March 1994) B3.Google Scholar

³¹ One said: “I think it's a stupid lawyer's trick” ibid.).

³² Mrozek, Thorn “Prosecutor Says Accused Killer Lied” Los Angeles Times (18 March 1994) B4.Google Scholar Despite accepting manslaughter, some jurors told the press they were “not swayed by the cultural defense,” see Burke, Anne “Man who said wife abused him guilty in killing” Daily News (26 March 1994) 3.Google Scholar

³³ U.S. v. Bauer, 84 F. 3d 1549 (9* Cir.Ct. 1996) [Bauer].

³⁴ The judges thought they should be entitled raise the religious defense with respect to the possession claims, but were doubtful as to whether the Rastafarian faith required the multi-million dollar farm.

³⁵ The appellate court said that when retried the defendants would have “… the obligation of showing that they are in fact Rastafarians and that the use of marijuana is a part of the religious practice of Rastafarians” (Bauer, supra note 33 at 1559).

³⁶ Ibid.

³⁷ Ibid.

³⁸ “As to the counts relating to conspiracy to distribute, possession with intent to distribute, and money laundering, the religious freedom of the defendants was not invaded. Nothing before us suggests that Rastafarianism would require this conduct.” (Ibid., at 1559).

³⁹ For a detailed account of the proceedings, see Martin, David A., “Adelaide Abankwah, Fauziya Kasinga, and the Dilemmas of Political Asylum” in Martin, David A. & Schuck, Peter H., eds., Immigration Stories (Foundation Press) [forthcoming in 2005] [Martin].Google Scholar

⁴⁰ Kasinga proved that she had a well-founded fear of persecution and her fears were on account of membership in a social group. In re Fauziya Kasinga, B.I.A. 15 1996 (Lexis). See also Kassindja, Fauziya & Bashir, Layli Miller, Do They Hear You When You Cry? (New York: Delta, 1998).Google Scholar

⁴¹ She also requested withholding of deportation which is subject to different standards.

⁴² Waldman, Amy “Woman Fearful of Mutilation Wins Long Battle for Asylum” New York Times (18 August 1999) B3Google Scholar; Hu, Winnie “Woman Fleeing Mutilation Savors Freedom” New York Times (20 August 1999) B4.Google Scholar

⁴³ Abankwah v. INS, 183 F. 3d 18, 1999 U.S. App. 15545 (Lexis).

⁴⁴ The immigration judge apparently rejected her claim because Ghana outlawed FGM in 1994 and because there were no reports of the practice in the region from which she came. Abankwah v. INS, 185 F. 3d 18, 20 (2d Cir. 1999).

⁴⁵ Ibid.

⁴⁶ Marzulli, John “Her Mutilation Tale is a Fake say Feds” Daily News (10 September 2002) 10.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Murphy, Dean E. “I.N.S. Says African Woman Used Fraud in Bid for Asylum” New York Times (21 December 2000) B3Google Scholar; Branigin, William & Farah, Douglas “Asylum Seeker is Impostor, INS Says” Washington Post (20 December 2000) A1.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ DeStefano, Anthony M. “Fraud Charge in Genital Mutilation Asylum Case” Newsday (10 September 2002) A13.Google Scholar Her name Regina was the only regal dimension of her identity.

⁴⁹ Malkin, Michelle “Mutilating the Truth” The Washington Times (20 September 2002) A20 [Malkin].Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Evidently the victim of identity theft, the real Adelaide Abankwah, did not report her stolen passport for fear she would be deported. By cooperating with the INS she hoped to legalize her status.

⁵¹ “Sexual Mutilation Horror, or Hoax” Channel 2 CBS Los Angeles (Associated Press) (23 January 2003).

⁵² Tunde Chris Odediran “The Adelaide Abankwah Immigration Furore” TransSahara News (on file with author).

⁵³ U.S. v. Danson, indictment, F#2002 R01952, (Find Law); “Federal court convicts phony African “princess” of falsehoods” 9:1 International Law Update (January 2003) (Lexis).

⁵⁴ Glaberson, William “Perjury Conviction in Asylum Case” New York Times (16 January 2003) B4.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ Personal communication with David Martin (4 October 2004) Clerk's office, District court of Brooklyn. See also Martin, supra note 39.

⁵⁶ This custom takes various forms. For a careful consideration of different types, see Gruenbaum, Ellen, The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁵⁷ I am indebted to Gordon Woodman, Professor of Law at Birmingham University and an expert on Ghana, for this observation.

⁵⁸ “Her exposure as a fraud has brought a warm glow to America's conservatives and professional Hillary-haters,” see Kettle, Martin “Feminist Cause was Fraud” The Guardian (21 December 2000) 13Google Scholar; See also Malkin, supra note 49.

⁵⁹ Chisholm, B.J., “Credible Definitions: A Critique of U.S. Asylum Law's Treatment of Gender-Related Claims” (2001) 44 How. L.J. 427.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ David Martin describes how a judge noticed that her name was spelled Adelaide on her passport and visa but that she spelled her name “Adeliade” on many forms filed with the court, (Martin, supra note 39 at p. 14).

⁶¹ For a discussion of this case see Lee, Ivy C. & Lewis, Mie, “Human Trafficking from a Legal Advocate's Perspective: History, Legal Framework and Current Anti-Trafficking Efforts” (2003) 10 U. of California Davis J. Int'l L. & Policy 169.Google Scholar

⁶² Ibid.; Wang, Anna, “Beyond Black and White: Crime and Foreignness in the News” (2001) 8 Asian L.J. 187Google Scholar, Wang compares the Reddy case with the O.J. Simpson case, noting that race was explicitly addressed in the former but downplayed in the latter [Wang].

⁶³ Chabria, Anita “His Own Private Berkeley” Los Angeles Times Magazine (25 November 2001) 22–23, 40Google Scholar [Chabria]. Reddy had Sitha's body cremated in accordance with Hindurites even though her parents were Christian.

⁶⁴ Morse, Rob “Whistle-blower ready for justice” San Francisco Chronicle (27 January 2002) A2.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ U.S. v. Reddy, indictment (25 October 2000).

⁶⁶ Personal communication with Scott Kronland (July 29 2004). The main issues were the extent to which sexual abuse of minors is acceptable in India and how caste relationships affected the parties. See Griffey, Virginia “Reddy to be Sentenced Today: Lawyer's Defense Utilizes Cultural Context” Daily Californian (19 June 2001) 1, 3.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ Marech, Rona “Slavery abounds in U.S., rights group says” San Francisco Chronicle (24 September 2004) A3Google Scholar; Anon., Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States (Berkeley: Human Rights Center, 2004). Initially Reddy expected a five year sentence, but the judge increased it to 8 years. See Yi, Matthew “Guilty Plea in Smuggling of girls: Landlord gets 5 years in prison” San Francisco Chronicle (8 March 2001) A21Google Scholar; Yi, Matthew “Berkeley landlord jailed for 8 years” San Francisco Chronicle (21 June 2001) A15.Google Scholar One son, Vijay Lakireddy received a two-year prison sentence for visa fraud and had to pay a $40,000 fine. His uncle, Jayapakash Lakireddy received 366 days for the same conviction, see Holstege, Sean “Berkeley sex-slave civil suit settled. Victim's family claimed wrongful death, sister alleged emotional suffering” Tribune (8 April 2004) 1, 6.Google Scholar Another son, Prasad Lakireddy, received only one year house arrest and a $20,000 fine, see Berton, Justin “But He Was Just Taking Orders” East Bay Express (16 June 2004) 17.Google Scholar Some have questioned whether the Reddy family was sufficiently punished, see e.g. Kim, Kathleen & Hreshchyshyn, Kusia, “Human Trafficking Private Right of Action: Civil Rights for Trafficked Persons in the United States” (2004) 16 Hastings Women's L.J. 23.Google Scholar The interesting article by Kim and Hreshchyshyn discusses human rights lawsuits filed against Reddy under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the possible use of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA) which created a private right of action for individuals trafficked to the U.S.

⁶⁸ Kurhi, Eric “Civil Suits against Lakireddy are settled” The Berkeley Voice (9 April 2004) A1, A9.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ Chabria, supra note 63 at 22.

⁷⁰ Dundes, Alan, Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow: A Freudian Folkloristic Essay on Caste and Untouchability (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997).Google Scholar

⁷¹ Chabria, supra note 63 at 23.

⁷² Personal communication with Stephen Corrigan, U.S. Attorney, (29 July 2004).

⁷³ Diana Russell discusses how Chanti Prattipati and her sister were given by their “poverty-stricken” parents to Reddy and had worked cleaning his properties in India before moving to California. See Russell, Diana, “Why Did Chanti Die?” (2000) 30 Off Our Backs 10.Google Scholar

⁷⁴ This argument is attributed to defense attorneys in Lee, Henry K. “Guilty Plea seen in sex smuggling case in Berkeley” San Francisco Chronicle (22 June 2002) A15.Google Scholar

⁷⁵ See e.g. Johnson, Chip “Crimes Usual in India, Reddy says” San Francisco Chronicle (16 June 2001) A11 [Johnson].Google Scholar

⁷⁶ Chabria, supra note 63 at 40.

⁷⁷ Chorney, Jeff “Investigation into interpreter in landlord sex case; Translator may have encouraged alleged victims to exaggerate testimony” The Oakland Tribune (7 November 2001) 1, 6.Google Scholar

⁷⁸ Chabria, supra note 63 at 40.

⁷⁹ Johnson, supra note 75.

⁸⁰ For more background and citations, see Cultural Defense, supra note 3 at 49–51.

⁸¹ Lloyd, Peter “The Case of Mrs. Adesanya” (1974) 4:2RAIN: Royal Anthropological Institute News.Google Scholar

⁸² For discussion about the significance of the kirpan for Sikh communities in the U.S. and Canada, see Lai, Vinay, “Sikh Kirpans in California Schools: The Social Construction of Symbols, Legal Pluralism, and the Politics of Diversity” (1996) 22 Amerasia J. 89.Google Scholar See also Wayland, Sarah V., “Religious Expression in public schools: kirpans in Canada, hijab in France” (1997) 20 Ethnic and Racial Studies 545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁸³ Cultural Defense, supra note 3 at 104–105.

⁸⁴ Wang's analysis of the Reddy case emphasizes the role of the media in disseminating racist stereotypes (supra note 62).

⁸⁵ Of course there is no reason why courts could not hear testimony from both outsiders and insiders.

⁸⁶ Judicial Studies Board, Handbook on Ethnic Minority Issues (London: JSB, 1994).Google Scholar