The Cultural Defense - Softcover

Renteln, Alison Dundes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195154037 ISBN 13: 9780195154030

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2005

Synopsis

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 facedown 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.

An invaluable resource for practitioners, students, and the merely curious, this comprehensive treatment of cultural conflicts in diverse societies will spark lively debate.

About this title

Review:

"Alison Dundes Renteln's The Cultural Defense is an extraordinarily effective combination of careful anthropology and incisive legal analysis. I am familiar with no other work that presents such a formidable case for revision of the evasions denying a place to minority culture in our legal universe."― Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., author of Narrowing the Nation's Power

"The Cultural Defense integrates an abstract theoretical discussion of cultural pluralism with a close and sensitive analysis of a wide range of concrete cases. The result is an illuminating account of the nature, logic and limits of culture as a legitimate basis of differential treatment." ― Bhikhu Parekh, author of Rethinking Multiculturalism

"Renteln presents a well-reasoned and spirited call for courts to recognize 'the cultural defense.' No reader will come away without being thoroughly stimulated." ― Bert Lockwood, Distinguished Service Professor, University of Cincinnati College of Law

"Renteln weaves fascinating stories of the intersection of law and diverse cultures into a rich narrative that forces one to confront anew the complexities of administering justice in a multicultural context. Renteln's analysis is rigorous, nuanced, and ultimately persuasive." ― G. Alan Tarr, author of Understanding State Constitutions

"Professor Renteln has ably questioned the adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," as a rule for applying the law equally. Her well-informed argument for a partial cultural defense (and offense in civil litigation) echoes the jus gentium of the Roman Empire itself. The case law is fascinating." ― James A.R.Nafziger, Thomas B. Stoel Professor, Willamette University College of Law

About the Author:

Alison Dundes Renteln is Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at the University of Southern California. An expert on cultural rights, her publications include International Human Rights and Folk Law (co-edited with Alan Dundes). She holds a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from U.C. Berkeley, and a J.D. from U.S.C. .

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0195154037
• ISBN 13: 9780195154030
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 420