A University of Windsor law professor hopes to end the use of rap lyrics in criminal trials.
A judge in a recent first-degree murder trial in Toronto considered David Tranovich's research into the criminality of rap music.
The Crown's case rested on Top 5's rap lyrics, which they said supported their theory that the murder was gang-related and involved the rapper.
When the judge refused to admit the lyrics into evidence, the Crown suspended the case.
Tranovich warned of the dangers of using rap lyrics in criminal cases in a 2016 article.
He argued the lyrics are often grounded in an attempt to be authentic but not necessarily autobiographical. He warned rap lyrics are likely to be over-valued by a jury and may trigger or reinforce stereotypical assumptions about Black men. He feared it could lead to unfair trials and wrongful convictions.
"All too often in Canada and the United States, this evidence receives insufficient scrutiny at the admissibility stage," said Tranovich. "Admissibility should be the exception, not the norm."
While the decision in Toronto didn't change the legal landscape when it comes to using rap lyrics as evidence, Tranovich notes the care the trial judge took in assessing the relevance of the evidence and the sensitivity he showed to the inherent prejudicial effect.