Duress defence Flashcards
Full defence
what is duress
common law defence , commits a crime under threat of death or serious personal injury to themselves or others
what are the two types of duress
threat and circumstance
what is duress by threats
specific spoken threat
what is duress by circumstance
implied threat
R v Valderama- vega
threat not enough must be a connection
R v Graham ( duress by threat)
killed wife from gay lover threat, did not believe the threat as grave enough
what to tests did the graham case set out
subjective and objective
what is the subjective test
serious threat and harm, must have no chance to avoid threat, must view it as defendant viewed it
r v gull
stole lorry and threatened violence, had time to call police, not available
R v Hassan
self induced duress, voluntary associated with criminals, no need for foreseeability just association = belief was honest and reasonable
what is the objective test
reasonable person can be given same characteristics but not all of them
r v martin
lack reasonable firmness due to recognised mental illlness or psychiatric , had paranoid schizo so this was considered
R v Flatt
if charactersitic is self induced it does not acount
r v bowen
age and sex considered but not IQ
r v howe
no defence to murder
r v conway
defence allowed to charge reckless driving , D thought officers were about to attack passenger
when does duress of circumstance apply
serious bodyily ham or death is feared
r v baker and wilkins
not available where psychological injury was feared
