Duress of Circumstance

Question 1

State the availability for Duress of Circumstance.

Answer 1

Available for all offences, except: Murder (R v Howe), Attempted Murder (R v Gotts) + Treason

Question 2

Explain how Duress of Circumstance differs from Duress.

Answer 2

• Circumstances dictate crime rather than a person
• You feel pressure in circumstances you’re in, leads you to commit crime
• No one’s threatened D

Question 3

State and explain the cases for the Defence of Duress of Circumstance.

Answer 3

• R v Willer: Creation of Defence
• R v Conway: available if on objective standpoint, D was acting to avoid threat of death/serious injury
• R v Pommell: Ruled defence is governed by same principles as Duress by Threats- go through same stages.
• R v Cairns: Defence available where D reasonably perceived a threat of serious injury/death, even though there was no actual threat.
• R v Abdul-Hussain: sufficient for D to show they acted as they did because they reasonably perceived a threat of serious physical injury/death. Not required to prove the threat was an actual real threat.

Question 4

Explain the second test for the Defence of Duress.

Answer 4

Test 2: Against who must threat be made?
- Lord Bingham in R v Hasan: Must be directed against D or his immediate family or someone close to him or for whom he is responsible for
- R v Shayler: D can be responsible towards another person even if there’s no previous connection between them, e.g. D’s told to commit a crime or a bomb will be set off harming others.
- State who in scenario

Question 5

Explain the third test for the Defence of Duress.

Answer 5

Test 3: The Objective Test: Did D act reasonably?
- R v Graham: Set out Tests
- R v Hasan: Approved Tests
1) Was D compelled to act as they did because they had a good cause to fear serious injury/death?
2) If first test is satisfied, would a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the same characteristics as the accused, have responded in the same way
- R v Bowen: States the characteristics that can be taken into account: Age, Pregnancy, Serious Physical Disability, Recognised Medical Condition, Gender

Question 6

Explain the fourth test for the Defence of Duress.

Answer 6

Test 4: Did Threats relate directly to crime committed by D?
- R v Cole: D can’t rely on Duress if threat wasn’t made specifically to get D to commit that crime
- R v Valderrama-Vega: Crime not committed ‘But for’ the threat

Question 7

Explain the fifth test for the Defence of Duress.

Answer 7

Test 5: Was there any evasive action D could’ve taken?
- R v Gill: D’s in situation where they had no safe avenue of escape
- R v Abdul-Hussain: Duress doesn’t require a ‘virtually spontaneous’ reaction if threat was imminent
- R v Hudson + Taylor: If threat isn’t likely to be carried out immediately, little room for doubt that D could’ve taken evasive action

Question 8

Explain the sixth test for the Defence of Duress.

Answer 8

Test 6: Did D lay themselves open to threats?
- Can’t use defence if voluntarily laid themselves open to the threat
- R v Sharp: Duress not available if D joins a criminal gang, which he knows is violent