New Zealand Law/Criminal/Compulsion
Appearance
Definition
[edit | edit source]- Threats of immediate death or gbh by a person present when offence commit.
- Defendant must believe threats will be carried out.
Exceptions
[edit | edit source]- Compulsion is not available for a number of offences, including murder, gbh, treason, kidnapping, robeery arson, piracy etc.
Cases
[edit | edit source]R v Teichelman
[edit | edit source]- Facts
- T sold drugs to undercover drugs, said he supplied drugs in fear of O’Keefe. But O’Keefe was not present when T obtained drugs.
- Held CA
- The offence was to supply.
- The ingredients of the offence did not including obtaining.
- O’Keefe was present throughout entire supply.
- Compulsion requires continuing threat of death or gbh. Person must be both present and in a position to carry out threat. Believing one is is some danger is not the same as being in fear of instant death or gbh.
R v Raroa
[edit | edit source]- Facts
- Raroa helped two men to dispose of bodies.
- The two men threatened anyone who narked on them.
- The two men did not specifically threaten Raroa.
- Held
- Raroa was no doubt very frightened but he was not under a threat of immediate death or gbh.
- Section 24 provides very narrow defence.
R v Witika
[edit | edit source]- Facts
- Two year old died of abuse and neglect.
- Mother and partner charged w/ murder and in the alternative manslaughter.
- Crown didn’t try to identify principal and secondary, argued:
- - one must have been principal and the other the secondary;
- - both defendants had duty to intervene.
- Held
- Where there is a special relationship btwn the parties or btwn one of the parties and the victim, there is a duty to intervene.
- Failure to intervene, together with an intention to encourage/approve by non-intervention, amounts to abetting.
R v Atofia
[edit | edit source]R v Mauriere
[edit | edit source]- Facts
- Accused drove drunk because partner had hit and threatened her.
- History of domestic violence.
- Held
- Gbh = serious bodily harm = harm that will seriously interfere for a time with health and comfort.
- Seen against the background of the relationship, the threats of an assault/serious assault did not amt to threats of gbh.
- Defence could only succeed if accused had no realistic alternative but to offend – if actions were proportionate to the peril faced.