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The Rise And Fall Of Duress (Or How Duress Changed Necessity Before Being Excluded By Self-Defence), Steve Coughlan
The Rise And Fall Of Duress (Or How Duress Changed Necessity Before Being Excluded By Self-Defence), Steve Coughlan
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Ryan significantly reshaped both the common law and statutory defenses of duress, harmonizing them and, in the case of the common law defense, fully articulating it for the first time. The decision is admirable for that reason. This paper argues that two further results can also be seen. First, the defense of necessity is a common law one which is conceptually similar to duress. The Court's reasoning at a policy level about duress ought therefore to be applicable to necessity: this paper traces the ways in which that latter defense ought …
R. V. Ryan - Duress Is Not Necessary Where Necessity Is Sufficient, Steve Coughlan
R. V. Ryan - Duress Is Not Necessary Where Necessity Is Sufficient, Steve Coughlan
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The accused's claim in R. v. Ryan that she committed an offence in response to a history of abuse is, at a factual level, stronger than that in the landmark case of R. v. Lavallee, which first established the relevance of such a claim to criminal defences. In each case there was expert evidence about the accused's psychological condition. In Ryan, however, the accused herself testified at length about events over a period of many years and her evidence was accepted by the trial judge, unlike Lavallee where the accused did not testify at all. Further, the threats of death …