Duress By Threats Flashcards

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1
Q
  1. The Defence of Duress by Threats may apply…
A

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…

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2
Q
  1. The Specific Type of Crime must be…
A

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].

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3
Q
  1. The threat has to be to the…
A

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].

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4
Q
  1. The threat has to be of death or…
A

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].

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5
Q
  1. The Jury must consider a 2 Stage Test, set out in Graham:

Firstly…

Secondly…

A

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).

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6
Q
  1. For the objective test, characteristics of D…
A

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].

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7
Q
  1. The threat must be…
A

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].

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8
Q
  1. There must not be a safe…
A

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].

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9
Q
  1. Duress is not a defence where it is…
A

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].

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10
Q

To Conclude…

A

To Conclude, the Defence of Duress by Threats may apply, so D may be found not guilty.

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