Paper 1.16c - Duress of Circumstance Flashcards
(10 cards)
Is duress of circumstances a full or a partial defence?
Full defence, resulting in an acquittal.
What is duress of circumstance?
D argues that they were forced to commit a crime due to their circumstances.
What two cases recognised and confirmed the defence of duress of circumstances?
Willer - recognised
Conway - confirmed (first legal use)
What question did the case of Conway pose for duress of circumstance?
Did the situation force d to act in the way they did?
In duress of circumstances, the Graham test is also relevant. What is the Graham test and which case decided it was relevant?
Subjective test - Did d act due to fear of death/GBH?
AND
Objective test - Would a sober person of reasonable firmness, w/ d’s characteristics have acted that way?
Martin
D drove while suspended as his wife threatened to commit suicide unless D drove her son to work. CA overturned the conviction, citing the fact D’s actions passed the Graham test.
There are three restrictions to duress of circumstance. What are they and what case established them?
Defence not available to murder, attempted murder or treason.
Defence could apply to all offences, not just driving ones.
If there is a delay for D stopping his crime, he will be less likely to get the defence.
Pommell.
D’s crime must be __________ and __________ to the circumstances? What cases said this?
Reasonable and proportionate.
(Bell) (Davies)
In order to get the defence, any harm d fears must be what? What case?
Physical, rather than psychological (Baker).
Can d still receive the defence if there is no actual danger? What case?
Yes, Cairns.
In Shayler, D exposed MI5 secrets, an offence against the Official Secrets Act, to ‘protect the public’. Why was D rejected the defence of duress of circumstances?
D failed to identify who the threat was to; the word ‘public’ was deemed too vague; a person who benefits should be identified.
