Duress: When can I be found not guilty of a crime?

When can I be found not guilty of a crime? One example – Duress.

Something that many people forget about criminal law is that being charged with a criminal offence is not equivalent to a criminal conviction. Despite what the police might say, getting charged with an offence is not an indication of a person’s guilt. It just means that the police suspect a person committed an offence.

However, law enforcers are human; they might make mistakes, commit errors in judgment, and have preconceived notions that prevent them from seeing the objective truth about a situation.

This is why cases go to court and require the expertise of a lawyer; the elements of an offence must be established and proven beyond a reasonable doubt before legal penalties or further action can be taken to punish a person accused of a crime.

Some reasons for a not guilty verdict

A common reason for a case to be not proven is that the prosecution fails to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt when the case goes to Court.

Furthermore, the strength of a prosecution case may be reduced if a technical defence is able to be established by the accused person. Some examples of these would be if the accused raises some defences such as automatism, mental impairment, or duress.

Using duress as a defence in court

Duress is considered a valid defence in Australia as well as in many overseas countries. Lawyers can provide expert advice to clients who want to know whether they can use duress as a defence. Lawyers can also provide their services to help a client navigate the legal system.

Acquiring the legal services of skilled solicitors can increase your chances of a successful duress defence. If the accused was charged with an offence, if the accused’s instructions suggest it, one route for their criminal lawyer is to raise that they acted under duress. This is a general defence, and it goes to the mental element of an offence, such as intention or knowledge.

If a person is found to have acted under duress, the jury will acquit them of criminal charges.

Since it is a rather unusual defence, with high stakes for the accused, there are several tests that can help establish that an act was committed under duress.

How is duress defined by Australian Capital Territory law?

At the end of the day, a threat that an accused person says causes them to act in a criminal way but committed under duress must be sufficiently compelling.

The accused must effectively show that the circumstances forced their hand and there were no other available options for them at the time.

Conclusion

A defence of duress means that a person is not responsible for an act that would otherwise cause them to be found guilty of the offence.

To succeed, the defendant must raise evidence that there was no other way they could have acted, given the circumstances.

If you’re looking for expert legal advice and high quality, tailored legal representation in Canberra, get in touch with the Andrew Byrnes Law Group. We are leading criminal lawyers who are committed to providing the best legal assistance to any client who requires our legal services. Our law firm also handles other legal matters for our clients, including personal injury, employment, wills and estates, and other areas of law.