Duress By Threats Flashcards
- The Defence of Duress by Threats may apply…
The Defence of Duress by Threats may apply, which is a Full Defence where the defendant has committed an offence due to being threatened with death or serious injury.
It can be a defence to all crimes except murder and attempted murder, set out in Howe and in Gotts.
Here…
- The Specific Type of Crime must be…
The Specific Type of Crime must be nominated by the one making the threat, (Cole).
Here, [eg. X told D to put the money in the bag].
- The threat has to be to the…
The threat has to be to the defendant, his immediate family, or a third party to whom D feels responsible for (Martin).
Here, [eg. D felt responsible for the customer who was being threatened with a gun].
- The threat has to be of death or…
The threat has to be of death or serious injury, including mental or physical health, but the cumulative effect of threats can be considered along with a threat of injury, (Valderrama-Vega). A threat to expose sexuality is not enough, but a threat to rape is enough.
Here [eg. the threat was of serious injury to D’s wife as X threatened to beat D’s wife up if D did not commit the robbery].
- The Jury must consider a 2 Stage Test, set out in Graham:
Firstly…
Secondly…
The Jury must consider a 2 stage test, set out in Graham:
Firstly, was D compelled to act because they reasonably believed they had good cause to fear death or serious injury? (a subjective test).
Secondly, if so, would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the characteristics of D, have responded in the same way? (an objective test).
- For the objective test, characteristics of D…
For the objective test, characteristics of D that can be considered are mental illness, disability, age, gender and pregnancy, but not low IQ (Bowen).
Here [eg. Firstly, D did feel compelled to act because he reasonably believed he had good cause to fear serious injury to his wife in view of X’s violent past. Secondly, a sober person of reasonable firmness with D’s characteristics would have responded in the same way, by committing the robbery. Both parts of the Graham test are therefore satisfied].
- The threat must be…
The threat must be imminent, although not immediate, (Abdul-Hussain).
Here [eg. the threat to D’s wife was imminent as X was about to attack her with a knife if D didn’t carry out the robbery].
- There must not be a safe…
There must not be a safe avenue of escape, such as going to the police, (Gill).
Here [eg. D did not have a safe avenue of escape such as time to call the police, and had to act there and then].
- Duress is not a defence where it is…
Duress is not a defence where it is self induced, as in Hasan, either because D joins a criminal gang he knows is violent OR D puts himself in a position where he realised or ought to have realised that he could be compelled to commit a crime by being threatened.
Here [eg. D was a member of a criminal gang and so he cannot use the defence of duress by threats as the duress situation was self induced].
To Conclude…
To Conclude, the Defence of Duress by Threats may apply, so D may be found not guilty.