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KembaraXtra-Case Law-Lynch (1975) HL – Duress as a Defence
Core Legal Concept: Duress – A defence used when a defendant is forced to commit a crime under threat.
Key Facts of the Case:
Core Legal Concept: Duress – A defence used when a defendant is forced to commit a crime under threat.
Key Facts of the Case:
- Defendant (D): Charged with being an accessory to the murder of a policeman.
- D's Actions: D drove armed gunmen to and from the crime scene.
- D's Defence: Duress.
- Allegation: D was ordered by "M" (a known ruthless IRA gunman) to participate.
- Evidence of Threat: D would have been shot if he disobeyed M's orders.
- Nature of the "Guilty Mind" in Duress:
- Lord Morris: A person acting under duress still makes a "calculated decision to do what he knows is wrong." This implies a "guilty mind."
- Mitigation of Guilt: However, this "guilty mind" is "less guilty" than that of someone committing the same act without coercion.
- Recognition of Self-Preservation:
- Lord Morris: The law must acknowledge the powerful and natural instinct/duty of self-preservation when a person is genuinely threatened with death or serious injury if they don't comply.
- Proportionality of Threat to Crime:
- Lord Wilberforce: The more serious or "heinous" the crime committed under duress, the greater and more irresistible the pressure (threat) must have been for the defence to succeed.
- How does Lynch balance the concept of a "guilty mind" with the defence of duress?
- What is the significance of the "instinct of self-preservation" in the context of duress according to Lynch?
- Explain Lord Wilberforce's principle regarding the relationship between the severity of the crime and the degree of pressure in duress.
- In what circumstances might the defence of duress be weakened based on the principles established in Lynch?
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