Duress and Necessity

Question 1

What type of defence is Duress?

Answer 1

General Defence, meaning it applies to any crime, apart from murder and attempted murder (R v Howe and R v Gotts)

Question 2

What are the two types of duress?

Answer 2

• Duress by Threats

- Duress by Circumstances

Question 3

What does Valderrama-Vega show?

Answer 3

That there must be threats of death or serious injury

Question 4

What does Graham show?

Answer 4

Graham gave a test to determine duress:

1. Was D compelled to act as he did because he reasonably believed he had a good cause to fear serious injury or death.
2. Would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing D’s characteristics, have acted in the same way.

Question 5

What does Bowen show?

Answer 5

Bowen decided which of D's characteristics that could be attributed to a 'sober person of reasonable firmness', saying that:
-Age
-Pregnancy
-Serious Physical Disability
-Mental Disorder
-Sex
NOT Low IQ

Question 6

What are the 3 things to consider when applying the Graham test?

Answer 6

1. Is there a connection between what D did and what they were told to do.
2. Was there a safe avenue of escape.
3. Was the threat on D’s mind at the time of the crime.

Question 7

What did Hasan show?

Answer 7

Duress is not allowed where D voluntarily associates with others involved in criminal activity and he foresaw or ought reasonably to have foreseen risk of being subjected to threats of violence.

Question 8

What does Sharp show?

Answer 8

In Sharp, D joined a violent gang and so should have foreseen the risk of threats.

Question 9

What does Shepherd show?

Answer 9

In Shepherd, D joined a non-violent gang and did not put himself in a violent situation, meaning that he could use the defence of duress.

Question 10

What is duress by circumstances?

Answer 10

Where D was forced to act because of the surrounding circumstances rather than a specific threat.
This occurred in Willer where D was forced to drive on the pavement as a gang of youths surrounded his car and threatened him.

Question 11

What does Martin show?

Answer 11

That the Graham test can be used for duress by circumstances.

Question 12

What did R v Dudley and Stephens show?

Answer 12

In Dudley and Stephens, the court refused to recognise the defence of necessity, as it would have created a dangerous precedent. However, they did drastically reduce the sentences to show empathy.

Question 13

What did Re A show?

Answer 13

Re A gave a test for the defence of necessity:

1. The consequences of not acting would cause inevitable and irreparable evil
2. No more was done than was reasonably necessary to avoid the evil.
3. The evil inflicted was not disproportionate to the evil avoided.