Duress

• Defintion

  • D has AR + MR for the crimes in question but is coerced into committing it
• 2 main forms

  1. Duress by threat (A-G v Wheelan)
  2. Duress by circumstance
• Duress by threat

  • 'Forced to commit an offence whilst subject to threats of immediate death or serious personal violence so great to overpower the ordinary powers of resistance'
  • Subjective to jury
• Duress Elements (R v Hasan):


  • No defence to murder, attempted murder or treason
  • The threat relied upon must be to cause death or serious injury (R v Valderrama)
  • Threat must be direct against D or someone close to him (R v Whayler
  • Threat must be so great as to overbear the ordinary powers of human resistance
  • Only available where criminal offence are caused directly by threats (R v Cole)
  • Only available where there is no evasive action the D could have been expected to take (R v Gill)
  • Defence cannot be used if D has voluntarily laid himself open to being threatened (R v Sharp)
• Graham test

  1. Was the D forced to act because he reasonably believed that he had good cause to fear death or serious injury?
  2. Would a sober person of reasonable firmness, shares characteristics of D have acted in the same way?
• Duress of Circumstance

  • Same as threat but it was the circumstance which forced D to commit a crime
  • R v Pommell