Ask anybody and they will probably tell you the same thing: Under no circumstances should you ever commit a crime. However, when a crime is committed under duress, this is not necessarily true. You might not know what duress is and whether or not it always constitutes a criminal behavior. Today we will look at… Read More
Posts Tagged With: threat
Can I Be Charged if a Crime Happened Under Duress?
If you have been charged with a crime but that crime took place under duress, you may find that it is hard to use this defense. There are many elements involved in a duress case, including force and coercion. Duress is the use of force, false imprisonment, threats, or psychological pressure and abuse that pushes… Read More
Armed Robbery and the Defenses That You Can Use
You probably already know a lot about the crime of robbery, but what is armed robbery? Armed robbery is theft of property that occurs when you are carrying a weapon. It is charged higher than normal robbery because force is almost always use when a weapon is involved. Even in cases where you only intended… Read More
Exigent Circumstances and How They Apply to Your Case
If a search has been conducted in your criminal case and you believe that it was done unfairly or illegally, you may have already heard of something known as exigent circumstances. Under exigent circumstances, there is no Constitutional right to privacy, as it is an emergency situation. This means that, under these circumstances, a police… Read More
Bail Hearings Under California Criminal Law
You may feel stressed, confused, or scared if you have been charged with a crime and are involved in the criminal justice system of California. However, there is hope with a process known as a bail hearing. At a bail hearing, in short, you and your attorney will be asking the court to reduce or… Read More
Types of Criminal Defenses: Self Defense
What happens when you have been threatened and must defend yourself? A defendant is permitted to claim self-defense in cases where they had to defend against somebody to prevent suffering force or violence. What happens if somebody comes into another person’s home to commit robbery and they have a knife? What if they threaten to… Read More
Types of Criminal Defenses: Duress
Both duress and necessity are defenses that can be used in criminal cases. However, in cases of necessity, there is usually a choice between two evils. In the cases of duress, which we will discuss today, a defendant will act unlawfully in order to avoid a threat of immediate harm to themselves. Duress is much… Read More
Assault in California: One of the Most Prevalent Crimes
Assault crimes are one of the most prevalent in San Diego, California, with thousands of events happening each year. California Penal Code 240, 242 describes assault as an intentional attempt to physically injure another person or an event that forces someone to believe that they are about to be attacked. Unlike battery, physical contact is… Read More
Using Self-Defense as a Legal Defense
Under California Criminal Law 3470, you have a Right to self-defense or defense of another. This means that you as the defendant are not guilty of a specific crime that you were charged for if you used force against the person in a lawful way. In some situations, you may have to defend yourself if… Read More
Understanding the Crime of Torture in California
Accidents happen, and everybody knows that. But what about cases where somebody intentionally inflicts great bodily injury onto somebody else? What if that pain is greater than minor or moderate harm and the defendant committed the injury with a sadistic purpose in mind? The defendant may have committed a crime of torture, which carries very… Read More
