duress by threats Flashcards

complete defence but never to murder

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1
Q

defined in AG v Whelan

A

if a D has been forced to commit a crime against their will because a threat made to them then they may be able to rely on the defence of duress.

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2
Q

not a defence for…

A

murder - R v Howe
attempted murder - Gotts

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3
Q

R v Howe

A

with others, the D took part in torturing and abusing two men who were then strangled. He claimed he took part in the killings because of threats that had been made against him

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4
Q

R v Hasan- sets out tests which must be satisfied for the defence to succeed

A
  1. there must be a threat to cause death or serious injury
  2. must be directed against the D , their immediate family or someone close to them
  3. Whether D acted reasonably in the light of the threats will be judged objectively
  4. threats relate directly to the crime the D committed
  5. no evasive action could’ve been taken
  6. D cannot use the defence if they’ve voluntarily laid themselves open to the threats
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5
Q

the threat

A

has to be of death or serious injury . victim will have to be subject to injury equivalent to GBH

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6
Q

R v Valderrama-vega

A

D illegally imported cocaine. He claimed he had done this because of death threats made by a mafia-type organisation involved in drug smuggling. Threats were to disclose his homosexuality and financial pressures.
jury entitled to look at cumulative effects of all threats- if threat was not of death then the other threats would not be considered

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7
Q

R v Hammond

A

D walked out of open prison because he believed that he would be unable to stop himself causing serious injury to a fellow inmate who was threatening to sexual assault him
Duress not available as evidence was insufficient to show that threat was imminent or immediately likely to have serious consequences

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8
Q

threat must be effective at the time the crime was committed but doesn’t mean that the threats need to be carried out immediately

A

R v Hudson and Taylor- two girls committed perjury as they had been warned by a group and a man with a bad rep that if they identified the D in court they’d be ‘‘cut up’’. they saw the man in court. The threat had to be a ‘‘present’’ threat to neutralise the will of the D at the time of committing the offence

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9
Q

threat must be directed against

A

> the D
their immediate family
someone close to them
someone they feel responsible for

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10
Q

did the D act reasonably?

A

R v Graham test :
1. was the D compelled to act as they genuinely believed in the effectiveness of the threat to cause death or serious injury?

  1. would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing characteristics of the accused, have responded in the same way?
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11
Q

jury allowed to take into account some of Ds characteristics into account

A

> age - young more susceptible to threats
pregnancy - additional fear for unborn child
serious physical disability - harder to protect themself
recognised mental illness - could include PTSD (R v Martin)
gender

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12
Q

Bowen

A

low IQ is irrelevant and will not be taken into account

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13
Q

did the threats relate directly to the crime committed by D?

A

can only use defence if the threats are made in order to make him commit a specific offence

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14
Q

R v Cole

A

there was insufficient connection between the threat of paying back loans and robbing a bank

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15
Q

could the D have taken any evasive action?

A

defence can only be used where D is put in a situation where they have no safe avenue of escape

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16
Q

R v Gill

A

D claimed threatened unless he stole a lorry. however, there was a period of time in which he was left alone and so could’ve raised the alarm. he had a possibility of a ‘safe avenue of escape’ so he couldn’t rely on the defence

17
Q

Did the D lay himself open to the threats?

A

D cannot use the defence if he or she voluntarily laid themselves open to the threats; for example, where a D joins a gang and commits some offences but is then forced to commit other crimes which he did not want to

18
Q

R v Sharp

A

couldn’t use the duress as an offence because he knew they were dangerous when he joined the gang - dangerous armed robberies

19
Q

R v Shepherd

A

D joined a shoplifting gang, but was threatened with violence when he tried to leave. Defence could only be raised with respect to offences committed after he had been threatened - although criminal they were a non-violent gang

20
Q

intoxication

A

if D is voluntarily intoxicated and mistakenly believes that he has been threatened, he cannot use duress as a defence. However, if the duress is irrelevant to the intoxication, the D can still use the defence