Duress
Duress refers to a legal defense used in both criminal and civil cases, wherein a party argues that they were compelled to act against their will due to the threat of imminent danger, such as death or serious bodily harm. This defense is recognized in many jurisdictions and is applicable when a person's free will is overcome by a threat that is perceived as immediate and severe. In criminal contexts, defendants may claim duress if they commit illegal acts under the reasonable belief of being in danger, and this can extend to threats against family members. For contract law, duress occurs when an individual signs an agreement or a promissory note under threat, allowing them to potentially rescind the contract. It is important to note that economic pressures do not typically constitute duress in contractual situations. The law requires that the threat be continuous during the act, and courts often disallow duress defenses if there is no evidence of actual fear or force. Ultimately, if it is proven that a defendant acted out of duress, or if there's reasonable doubt about their state of mind, they may be found not guilty of the offense in question.
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Duress
SIGNIFICANCE: Statutorily defined in most states, the defense of duress may be used in both criminal and civil cases.
The defense of duress is available in limited circumstances if a defendant’s free will has been overcome by a threat of the imminent danger of death or great bodily harm from another. The defense of duress is also available in contract actions. The essence of duress in a contract action is that a person signing a contract or promissory note has done so under the threat of imminent bodily harm from another.
The defense of duress for crimes is statutorily defined in most states. In Oklahoma, for example, defendants are entitled to the defense of duress if they commit criminal acts or omissions that constitute the crimes because of a reasonable belief that they are in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm from another. In Oklahoma and other states, duress may be predicated on threats to one’s spouse or children.
Courts refuse to instruct juries on the defense of duress when there is no evidence of actual force or fear to compel the defendant to commit crimes. The threatened harm must be continuous throughout the time the criminal act is being committed in order for there to be a duress defense.
The urgency of avoiding the harm is assessed according to ordinary standards of reasonableness. Serious bodily injury is bodily injury involving a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, disfigurement or the substantial impairment of a bodily member, organ, or mental facility. Jury instructions provide that if a defendant acted as a result of duress or there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant acted as a result of duress, the defendant must be found not guilty. Duress is a defense even if defendants intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly placed themselves in a situation in which it was probable that they would be subject to compulsion.
Duress is also a defense to an ordinary contract action. Contracts signed under duress may be canceled or rescinded. Economic duress is not a defense to a contract. The type of duress that warrants excuse of contractual performance is a matter of local law. A holder in due course is a person who takes a negotiable instrument in good faith, for value, and without notice of defenses or claims. However, even a holder in due course takes an instrument subject to the defense of duress. The duress must render the obligation of the party a nullity. Duress rendering instruments void must be of such a nature that the signers believe themselves to have been under the threat of death or serious bodily injury at the time they signed the instruments.
Bibliography
Del Carmen, Rolando V. Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice. 6th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004.
Dressler, Joshua. Understanding Criminal Procedure. 3d ed. New York: LexisNexis, 2002.
"The Duress Defense in Criminal Law Cases." Justia, 15 Oct. 2023, www.justia.com/criminal/defenses/duress/. Access 26 June 2024.
Elkington, Amy, et al. "The Historical Development of Duress and the Unfounded Result of Denying Duress as a Defence to Murder." The Journal of Criminal Law, vol. 87, no. 3, 18 Apr. 2022, doi.org/10.1177/00220183221093993. Accessed 26 June 2024.
Emanuel, S. L. Criminal Procedure. Aspen, Colo.: Aspen Publishing, 2003.