What is required for the duress defense?

What is required for the duress defense?

• A. Threat to a coworker
• B. The threat to the defendant or a close family member
• C. Threat to property
• D. Threat to someone else

Answer: (B)

Duress is a defense grounded in an imminent threat of serious harm that pushes the defendant to commit a crime they otherwise wouldn’t. The critical element is that the threat must be directed at the defendant or at someone with whom the defendant has a close, typically familial, relationship. Threats to a coworker or to property don’t involve personal harm to the defendant or a family member, and a threat to someone else who isn’t a close family member doesn’t meet the relationship requirement. Because the defense is about protecting the defendant or a close family member from imminent harm, the scenario in which the threat targets the defendant or a close family member is the one that fits.

Duress is a defense grounded in an imminent threat of serious harm that pushes the defendant to commit a crime they otherwise wouldn’t. The critical element is that the threat must be directed at the defendant or at someone with whom the defendant has a close, typically familial, relationship. Threats to a coworker or to property don’t involve personal harm to the defendant or a family member, and a threat to someone else who isn’t a close family member doesn’t meet the relationship requirement. Because the defense is about protecting the defendant or a close family member from imminent harm, the scenario in which the threat targets the defendant or a close family member is the one that fits.