Page 41 Flashcards
What are the common law elements of duress?
- immediate
- threat of death/GBI
- against defendant or others
- creating fear that would make an ordinary person YIELD
What are the common and modern law views on murder as a result of duress?
- CL: doesn’t excuse intentional killings
- MPC/modern: if a reasonable person would’ve killed someone else to avoid his own death, duress can mitigate murder to voluntary manslaughter
What are the two things that are not allowed for common-law duress?
- defendant cannot have put himself in this situation
- D can’t kill another
What are the MPC elements of duress?
- threat of unlawful force
- against defendant or any person
- that would make a person of reasonable firmness in D’s situation yield
What are the different rules for MPC duress ?
- D can’t have recklessly put himself in the situation
- Duress can apply to any crime, even homicide
- D must take any reasonable opportunity to escape
- must terminate his conduct as soon as the duress is over
- no defense for carrying out superior’s orders
What are two ways that expert testimony can be used for battered woman syndrome to help with a defense of duress?
- to show D had an honest belief that she was being immediately threatened
- to show D wasn’t reckless just because she stayed in the abusive relationship
What was the old common-law about coercion of a wife by her husband?
A married woman wasn’t liable for her crimes if she acted under the coercion of her husband (not true today)
If you commit a crime by coercion, but you’re not excused under duress, what can you ask for?
Your punishment to be lower than it would’ve been if there were no coercion
If you are coerced into killing someone, how you can ask for mitigation?
Say that the fear of the threat made it impossible to premeditate and deliberate, so you could only be guilty of second-degree murder
What are the big differences between common-law duress and MPC duress?
MPC:
- allows duress even for murder
- has no immediate harm requirement
- gives the jury more power
Basically what is the MPC duress question?
Would a person of reasonable firmness in the defendant’s situation have been unable to resist the threat? If so, you are excused
How is the battered woman syndrome related to duress?
When the man continually breaks down the personality of the woman, and renders her submissive to whatever suggestions he makes
When is the defense of duress not available?
When the actor negligently or recklessly puts himself in a situation that it is probable he will be subject to duress
What is imperfect duress?
When duress mitigates a homicide to voluntary manslaughter because the defendant killed under extreme emotional duress
Consent is only a defense when what?
It negates an element of the offense or stops infliction of the harm that the law is meant to prevent
