Necessity in the mother.

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa
• Position: Bench press - R. v. Vandenelsen Ontario Court of Appeal August 28, 2003 - Brief Article

An Ontario mother was acquitted on cr iminal charges of abduction after she took her triplets from their father, who had legal custody, and fled through the US and Mexico. The jury accepted her defence of necessity; that she had to flee with the children because she feared they would be psychologically and emotionally harmed if they were separated from her. The Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously overturned her acquittal and ordered a new trial. The Appeal Court referred to the Supreme Court of Canada's definition of necessity, which states

* the situation must be urgent and the peril imminent

* compliance with the law must be impossible such that there is no reasonable legal alternative to disobeying the law

* the harm inflicted must be proportional to and not greater than the...