Duress of Circumstances

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 2nd 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!