In certain situations, law-abiding citizens might be in a position where they end up committing a crime out of sheer desperation and a lack of options. If there are truly no alternatives, there’s a chance that the defence of duress could apply. But it’s important to have criminal lawyers in Toronto to help you understand if it applies to you:
Where Does the Defence of Duress Apply
If someone has been charged with a criminal offence, it’s not sufficient to claim that there were no alternatives to the choices that you had made. A person’s actions may not be considered voluntary in a situation where they were under threat by someone else or in a circumstance where harm could not be avoided.
When you have to pick between the lesser of two evils, emphasising that there are no alternatives where the harm could be avoided, it is not a truly voluntary choice. The defence of duress applies here.
Requirements
There are strict requirements for certain actions to count as a defence of duress. The requirements state that:
- There should be a present or future threat that poses bodily harm or could cause death.
- The accused has a reasonable belief that the threat may be carried out.
- There was no safe avenue of escape/no way to avoid the threatened harm;
- The threat is the reason the accused did what they did
- The harm caused by the accused was not disproportionate to the harm being threatened against him.
How Defence of Duress Is Tested
Canadian law has a narrow test for the defence of duress. The proceedings are done by section 17 of the Criminal Code of Canada and the case law as it proceeds.
The accused is not responsible for proving their actions were involuntary due to the threats posed to them. Instead, the Crown prosecutor is responsible to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that what the accused did was the result of their own free choice.
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