The danger of allowing a cultural defense or accepting inaccurate information as cultural evidence has surfaced in the experiences of women in immigrant communities. (Volpp, (Mis)Identifying Culture, 1994; Gallin, Note, The Cultural Defense, 1994.)

For example, in a 1988 New York case with a bench trial, a Chinese immigrant was convicted of a reduced charge and received a minimal, probational sentence for murdering his wife after she confessed to infidelity. (People v. Dong Lu Chen, No. 87-7774 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Dec. 2,1988)). The judge found that the defendant's cultural values contributed to his state of mind.

Women in the Asian community were outraged and frightened. Battered women in the Chinese community felt that they were at a much greater risk of violence from their partners. One Chinese immigrant husband told his wife, "If this is the kind of sentence you get for killing your wife, I could do anything to you. I have the money for a good attorney." Another woman fled her home with her children and sought emergency shelter immediately after reading about the case in a Chinese newspaper, fearing that her husband would find out about the decision. In addition, a counselor for battered immigrant women confirmed that before the decision, women could try to threaten their abusive husbands with punishment through the legal system. Afterwards, this potential deterrent had been eliminated (Alexis Jetter, Fear is Legacy of Wife Killing in Chinatown: Battered Asians Shocked by Husband's Probation, Newsday, Nov. 26, 1989, at 4).

As a result of cases such as this one, women in immigrant communities, who are in violent relationships may be even less willing to report their abusers than women from the dominant culture because they may feel that the justice system offers them no protection. These concerns and concerns about their immigration status, see Why Victims Don't Report, Immigration Status Concerns , may leave immigrant women without recourse to justice.