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Duress of Circumstances When is this defence available?

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Presentation on theme: "Duress of Circumstances When is this defence available?"— Presentation transcript:

1 Duress of Circumstances When is this defence available?

2 Task  Read pg 183-185 14.6-14.6.2  Explain how duress can arise

3 Duress  How does Duress Arise?  Threats must be: Threats Circumstances Serious- Death or serious injury Against ; Self, - Valderrama Vega Friends, Family - Martin possible extend to anyone- Conway

4 Availability of Defence  How do the courts decide if Duress is available as a defence?  Test Laid down in Graham  Subjective test  Objective Test When the D is compelled to do an act as he did because he reasonably believed he had good cause to fear serious injury or death If so would a sober person of reasonable firmness sharing the same characteristics as D have responded in the same way

5 Graham 1982  D a homosexual who lived with his wife and another homosexual man, K. K was violent and bullied D. After both had been drinking heavily, K put a flex around the wife's neck and told D to pull the other end. D did this for about 1 min. Wife died. D claimed he only held flex because of his fear of K. Convicted of murder  Why?  What happened in Martin?  Does this change the tests laid down in Graham?

6 No safe avenue of escape  If D is threatened to perform an act but there is an opportunity to escape then Duress will not be available as a defence.  What happened in Gill 1963 pg 186  Is police protection enough to negate defence of duress? Hudson and Taylor

7 Imminence of Threat  How close to the crime must the threat be?  The threat must be effective at the moment the crime is committed. Hudson V Taylor  But does not mean threats have to be able to be carried out immediately. Abdul- Hussain 1999  Threat must be to make D commit a specific crime. Cole 1994  Pg187-188

8 No Duress when?  Intoxication – If D becomes voluntary intoxicated and mistakenly believes he is being threatened, no Duress  If intoxication not relevant to Duress can use the defence  Self Induced Duress. When can duress be a defence if you voluntarily join an organised gang?  Read Sharp Shepherd and Hasan pg 190.

9 What is D of C?  Where a D may be forced to act because of surrounding circumstances.  What happened in Willer (1986)  In this case the CA held that the jury should have considered whether the D drove under duress.

10 Avoiding threat or Serious Injury  Duress of circumstances can be available if it can be shown objectively that the D was acting to avoid a threat of death or serious injury. (Conway 1988).  What happened in Martin (1989)?  What 2 stage test was put forward in Martin (1989)

11 Pommell (1995)  By this case it became clear that duress of circumstances could be used as a defence to all cases except murder. What happened in Pommell?

12 Summary  Duress is a defence based on fact D has been effectively forced to commit the crime  Defence to all crimes but Murder, Attempted murder or possibly Treason.  Originally thought defence for 2 nd D in Lynch but then decided not in Howe- Explain why  Duress carried out by threats to self or family can be friend or stranger depends on circumstances Martin, Conway,  Threat must be of death or serious injury- others taken into account with these Valderrama-Vega  2 Stage test Subjective test Was D compelled to act as he did because he reasonably Graham

13  Create a brainstorm on the problems with the law of duress?  Group Work: Idiot’s Guide to Necessity!


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