THE CURRENT CULTURAL DEFENSE FRAMEWORK: MISCONCEPTION OF MINORITY CULTURES AND DISREGARD OF GENDER ANTISUBORDINATION VALUES.

INTRODUCTION 1287 I. CULTURAL CONVERGENCE OF SEXIST NORMS 1288 A. WOMEN AS PROPERTY 1289 1. People v. Chen 1290 2. People v. Moua 1292 B. THE HYSTERICAL WOMAN 1294 1. [...]
American courts tend to accept cultural defenses raised by minority defendants attempting to explain their sex-subordinating crimes when the sexist norms underlying their cultural claims converge with those norms still embedded in American society. When culture is used as an excuse in this way, establishing an effective mechanism to assess the authenticity of minority defendants cultural claims is essential. Unfortunately, it is not the case in the American criminal courtroom today.