Duress
Duress (
coercion) (as a term of
jurisprudence) is a possible
defense, via
excuse, by which a
defendant may argue that they should not be held
criminally liable for
actionss which broke the
law.
Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed.) defines duress as: "any unlawful
threat or
coercion used...to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner [they] otherwise would not [or would]." A possible example of duress would involve
robbing a bank in order to pay a ransom.
Courts generally do not accept a defense of duress when harm done by the defendant, such as
murder, was greater than the courts perception of the coercive influence.