duress Flashcards
(17 cards)
what are the 2 elements to duress?
- duress by threats
- duress by circumstances and necessity
DbT - for DbT what must the threat be?
The threat must be of immediate death or serious personal violence so great as to overbear the ordinary powers of human resistance
DbT - what is the general rule from common law?
that an adult of sound mind is responsible for any crime they commit
DbT - duress by threats is an exception to the common law general rule for all crimes apart from and cases?
- murder (R v Howes)
- attempted murder (Gotts)
DbT - what case sets out the test for duress by threats?
R v Hasan
DbT - what are the 6 aspects that must be satisfied?
- immediate threat to cause death or serious injury
- threat must be directed against the D or their immediate family or someone close to you
- the D must’ve acted reasonably in lights of threats
- threats relate directly to crime committed by D
- there was no evasive action the D could’ve taken
- the D cannot use the defence if they voluntarily laid themselves open to threats
DbT - case for there must be a threat to cause death or serious injury?
R v Valderrama-Vega
DbT - case for the D must’ve acted reasonably in the light of threats?
R v graham
DbT - what is the 2 stage test from R v Graham?
- was the D compelled to act as they did because they reasonably believed they had good cause to fear serious injury/death? (subjective material)
- would the sober reasonable man sharing D’s characteristics have responded in the same way? (objective test)
DbT - what are the characteristic taken into account and the case?
R v Bowen
- age = younger and older more susceptible to threats
- pregnancy = additional fear for the safety of unborn child
- serious physical disability = harder to protect themselves
- recognised mental disorder = more susceptible to threats
- gender = even though women have just as much moral courage than men
DbT - case for when the threats relate directly to the crime committed by D?
R v Cole
DbT - cases for there was no evasive action the D could’ve taken and principles?
R v Gill - police protection was available but not taken so no duress
R v Hudson v Taylor - police protection isn’t foolproof as D might be afraid of consequences if they try to phone
- case for the D cannot use the defence if they voluntarily laid themselves open to threats?
R v Sharp - member of gang
DbC - what defines Duress of circumstances away from duress by threats?
the circumstances dictate the crime rather than the person
R v Willer
R v Martin
DbC - principle from R v Dudley?
that there must be circumstances which force a person to act in order to prevent a worse evil from occurring
DbC - situations where defence has been recognised by the courts when making an order in civil cases?
Re F - sterilisation of mentally disabled persons = necessity defence allowed
Re A - separation of conjoined twins = in unique situation necessity can be a defence to murder
DbC - what is the test for duress by circumstances and/or necessity?
R v Shayler
- the act must be done only to prevent an act of greater evil
- the evil must be directed towards the D or a person or persons for whom they are responsible
-the act must be reasonable and proportionate to the evil avoided
