Duress

Question 1

What are the 3 types of duress?

Answer 1

1. Duress by threat
2. Duress of circumstance
3. Necessity

Question 2

In what case were the requirements for duress set out?

Answer 2

R v Hasan by Lord Bingham

Question 3

What are the 7 elements of the defence of duress?

Answer 3

1. Threat of death or serious injury
2. Threat made to D, family, someone lose to or someone responsible for
3. Was belief in objective threat reasonable?
4. Was the response reasonable?
5. Was the criminality caused by the threat
6. There was no evasive actino possible
7. Did the d voluntarily open himself to threats

Question 4

M’Growther

Answer 4

Threats to property are insufficient

Question 5

R v Hasan (who threat directed at)

Answer 5

• Defendant
• Family
• Someone close to
• Responsible for

Question 6

R v Shayler

Answer 6

D can be responsible for a stranger

Question 7

R v Graham

Answer 7

Belief in threat must be reasonably held

1. Subjective belief in threat
2. Objectively reasonable

*a threat can be objective without being subjectively believed

Question 8

What is a reasonable response dependent on?

Answer 8

• Age
• Sex
• R v Bowen - mental illness, physical characteristics

Question 9

R v Abbot

Answer 9

The worse the crime the worse the threat need be for the defence to operate

Question 10

R v COle

Answer 10

Must be a nexus between the threat and the crime

Question 11

R v Valderrama-Vega

Answer 11

D smuggled drugs due to a number of threats.

- The physical threat to family etc need not be the only reason for the offence

Question 12

Evasive action

Answer 12

R v Hasan - If there is an opportunity for evasive action then the defence will fail

Question 13

R v HUdson & Taylor

Answer 13

• Duress allowed even though evasive action was possible, as police judged not to be able to protect them from the threat
• Lord Bingham criticised the decision emphasising the need for immediacy as otherwise this would create a huge loop hole

Question 14

R v Sharp

Answer 14

D joined a gang which comitted armed robberies which he knew about
- Could not use duress as he had opened himself up to the threats

Question 15

R v Shepherd

Answer 15

• Where D does not know of the threats of violence before joining gang then will not be opening himself up to them
• Shoplifting gang

Question 16

R v Hasan view of voluntary association

Answer 16

• If the D saw, or should have foreseen the threat of violence then the defence will fail
• This is an objective measure

Question 17

R v Ali

Answer 17

Need not be an association with a criminal gang which invites the threats

Question 18

Abbott v R

Answer 18

• Not available for murder

Question 19

Ormerod

Answer 19

• Necessity could be used if the threat was you kill 1 person or I kill 10000

Question 20

Duress of circumstance

Answer 20

• D feels the only way to get away from threatening circumstances is in the comitting of a crime

Question 21

R v Willer

Answer 21

• Threatened by gang and drove his car through a shopping centre to escape

Question 22

Necessity

Answer 22

• Threat of death or serious injury
• Only way to escape is crime
• Crime committed to prevent greater danger

Question 23

Mouse’s Case

Answer 23

Jettison of cargo to escape capsize

Question 24

Necessity as possible defence to murder

Answer 24

• Dudley v Stevens -> no
• Ormerod -> in exceptional circumstances
• Re A proposed that in medical circumstances where it is in the interests of the victim

Question 25

Alex’s shit ackronym for duress by threat

Answer 25

T - threat
R - responsibility for party threatened
O - objective threat and response
N - Nexus
E - evasive action
V - voluntarily

Question 26

Buckoke v GLC

Answer 26

Necessity not available for fireman who jumped the lights and killed someone
May mitigate a sentence - denning