''R v Leary'',
9781 S.C.R. 29, is the leading
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
decision on the use of
intoxication as an
excuse to criminal
liability which created what is known as the "Leary rule". The Court held that when the accused was found to be sufficiently intoxicated at the time of the offence to be unable to form the "minimal mental element" required for a general intent offence, they may still be held liable as the act of inducing intoxication can be substituted for the requirement of ''
mens rea
In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action (or lack of action) would cause a crime to be committed. It is considered a necessary element ...
''.
Aftermath
The "leary rule" was later challenged in the case of ''
R v Daviault'', where an exception to the rule was made for when the accused was so intoxicated he was in a state akin to automatism.
See also
*
List of Supreme Court of Canada cases
* ''
R v George ''R v George'', 1960 S.C.R. 871 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada on different degrees of ''mens rea''. The accused was acquitted for a specific intent offence of robbery as he was too intoxicated at the time. However, he was convicted of the gen ...
''
External links
full text at CanLII.org
Supreme Court of Canada cases
Supreme Court of Canada case articles without infoboxes
1978 in Canadian case law
Canadian criminal case law
Alcohol law in Canada
{{Canada-law-stub