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In criminal law, a duress defense is similar to a plea of guilty, admitting partial culpability, so that if the defense is not accepted then the criminal act is admitted. Duress or coercion can also be raised in an allegation of rape or other sexual assault to negate a defense of consent on the part of the person making the allegation.
Duress in English law is a complete common law defence, operating in favour of those who commit crimes because they are forced or compelled to do so by the circumstances, or the threats of another. The doctrine arises not only in criminal law but also in civil law, where it is relevant to contract law and trusts law .
Necessity and duress (compulsion) are different defenses in a criminal case. [1] [2] [3] The defense of duress applies when another person threatens imminent harm if defendant did not act to commit the crime. The defense of necessity applies when defendant is forced by natural circumstances to choose between two evils, and the criminal act is ...
English contract law; English unjust enrichment law; Duress (contract law) Undue influence; Economic tort; Baird Textile Holdings Ltd v Marks & Spencer plc; Vegelahn v. Guntner 167 Mass. 92, 107 (1896) Holmes J, "The word "threats" often is used as if, when it appeared that threats had been made, it appeared that unlawful conduct had begun. But ...
Duress can be a defense in many jurisdictions, although not for the most serious crimes of murder, [13] attempted murder, being an accessory to murder [14] and in many countries, treason. [15] The duress must involve the threat of imminent peril of death or serious injury, operating on the defendant's mind and overbearing his will. [16]
In English law, the defence of necessity recognises that there may be situations of such overwhelming urgency that a person must be allowed to respond by breaking the law. There have been very few cases in which the defence of necessity has succeeded, and in general terms there are very few situations where such a defence could even be applicable.
Entrapment defenses in the United States have evolved mainly through case law. Courts took a dim view of the defense at first. The New York Supreme Court said in 1864 that "[It] has never availed to shield crime or give indemnity to the culprit, and it is safe to say that under any code of civilized, not to say Christian, ethics, it never will ...
What had remained of the original common law defence of marital coercion at the date of abolition was contained in section 47 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925: [3]. Any presumption of law that an offence committed by a wife in the presence of her husband is committed under the coercion of the husband is hereby abolished, but on a charge against a wife for any offence other than treason or ...