Cultural Defense in Iranian-American Criminal Justice System

In the process of criminal procedure, cultural defenses run among cultural minorities to preserve traditions and historical customs as well as internal unity.These methods are regarded as normal and acceptable in the relationships within the group, but they may be unacceptable to majority value judgment , Because they are not necessarily compatible with the majority ideological, cultural and social norms of the majority. Meanwhile, how majorities put up with or oppose minorities in a matter of importance in terms of acceptance or rejection of different cultures is significant.
This paper, as a Case study,tries to investigate the matter why cultural defenses are rejected merely due to their opposition to the majorities culture and religious norms,even though they are effective and perevent ethnic conflicts.
As a result , in the U.S. criminal justice system, despite the legislature's silence about the cultural defense, the criminal courts have considered in sentencing and cultural defense in some cases causing changes sentence reductions or mitigating.
In Iranian criminal justice system, legislator has rejected cultural differences of minority groups, and Criminal courts have adopted an absolute inacceptance approach to cultural defense.