Duress

Question 1

cases for duress defence not accepted for murder or attempted murder

Answer 1

• R v Gotts
• R v Howe

Question 2

what are the two types of duress

Answer 2

• duress by threats
• duress by circumstances

Question 3

what is duress by threats

Answer 3

D committed a crime as he received personal threats or threats to family members, or people for whom the defendant is responsible for

Question 4

what was confirmed in R v Cole

Answer 4

needs to be a connection between the threats made to the accused and the offence committed in response to the threats

Question 5

who needs to consider the two-part test set out in R v Graham

Answer 5

the jury

Question 6

Part 1 of the Graham test

Answer 6

was the defendant compelled to act in the belief that he or others would be killed or seriously injured if he didn’t comply with the threats

Question 7

what must the threat to the defendant be

Answer 7

serious, unavoidable and imminent

Question 8

can duress be self-induced

Answer 8

can’t be self-induced

Question 9

case for defendants belief that he would be killed must be reasonable (objective test)

Answer 9

R v Hasan

Question 10

what type of threats are necessary

Answer 10

threats of death and serious injury

Question 11

what was confirmed in R v Valderrama-Vega

Answer 11

the court held that only the threat to him and his family were able to afford the defence of duress, not the threat to expose defendants homosexuality

Question 12

case for threat needs to be immediate

Answer 12

R v Gill

Question 13

case for self-induced duress

Answer 13

R v Hasan

Question 14

Part 2 of the Graham test

Answer 14

Would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the same characteristics of the defendant, have acted in a similar way

Question 15

what will the courts take into account when considering part 2 of the Graham test

Answer 15

age and sex of the defendants

Question 16

what will the jury take into account when considering part 2 of the Graham test

Answer 16

• serious physical disability
• pregnancy
• recognised mental illness/psychiatric disorder

Question 17

what wasn’t taken into account by the courts in R v Bowen

Answer 17

defendant being of low IQ/intelligence

Question 18

what isn’t taken into account

Answer 18

• intoxication
• defendant being ‘timid
• defendant being more vulnerable to threats

Question 19

where is duress of circumstances mainly used

Answer 19

in driving offences

Question 20

what is duress of circumstances

Answer 20

defendants may have been forced to commit a driving offence because of the circumstances they found themselves to be in

Question 21

what was established in R v Conway

Answer 21

duress of circumstances should have been a possible defence

Question 22

in what case did the court of appeal establish a two-stage test for duress of circumstances

Answer 22

R v Martin

Question 23

first stage for duress of circumstances

Answer 23

defendant reasonably believed that the death or serious injury would result

Question 24

second stage for duress of circumstances

Answer 24

sober person of reasonable firmness would have done as the defendant did

Question 25

in what case was the defence of duress of circumstances extended beyond driving offences

Answer 25

R v Pommell