duress

duress
Any wrongful act of one person that compels a manifestation of apparent assent by another to a transaction without his volition. Compulsion or restraint by which a person is illegally forced to do, or forbear from doing, some act. 25 Am J2d Dur § 1. A species of fraud in which compulsion in some form takes the place of deception. 25 Am J2d Dur § 1. As a defense in a criminal prosecution, a present, imminent, and impending coercion of such a nature as to induce a well-grounded apprehension of death or serious bodily injury if the act is not done. 21 Am J2d Crim L § 100. The existence of duress is to be determined by the subjective standard of whether the free will of the victim was, rather than whether that of a person of ordinary courage and firmness would be, overcome thereby. Wise v Midtown Motors, 231 Minn 46, 42 NW2d 404, 20 ALR2d 735. See business compulsion; coercion; undue influence.

Ballentine's law dictionary. . 1998.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • duress — du·ress /du̇ res, dyu̇ / n [Anglo French duresce, literally, hardness, harshness, from Old French, from Latin duritia, from durus hard]: wrongful and usu. unlawful compulsion (as threats of physical violence) that induces a person to act against… …   Law dictionary

  • duress — du‧ress [djʊˈres ǁ dʊ ] noun [uncountable] LAW the illegal or unfair use of force or threats to make someone do something: • He claimed that he had signed the contract under duress. * * * duress UK US /djʊˈres/ noun [U] LAW ► threats used to… …   Financial and business terms

  • Duress — Du*ress , v. t. To subject to duress. The party duressed. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Duress — Du ress, n. [OF. duresse, du?, hardship, severity, L. duritia, durities, fr. durus hard. See {Dure}.] 1. Hardship; constraint; pressure; imprisonment; restraint of liberty. [1913 Webster] The agreements . . . made with the landlords during the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • duress — ► NOUN ▪ threats or violence used to coerce a person into doing something: confessions extracted under duress. ORIGIN originally in the sense harshness, cruel treatment : from Latin durus hard …   English terms dictionary

  • duress — [doo res′, dyoores′] n. [ME dures < OFr durece < L duritia, hardness, harshness < durus, hard < IE base * deru , tree, oak (orig. ? hard) > TREE] 1. imprisonment 2. the use of force or threats; compulsion [a confession signed under …   English World dictionary

  • duress — early 14c., harsh or severe treatment, from O.Fr. duresse, from L. duritia hardness, from durus hard (see ENDURE (Cf. endure)). Sense of coercion, compulsion is from 1590s …   Etymology dictionary

  • duress — constraint, coercion, compulsion, violence, *force, restraint …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • duress — [n] threat, hardship bondage, captivity, coercion, compulsion, confinement, constraint, control, detention, discipline, force, imprisonment, incarceration, pressure, restraint, violence; concepts 14,674 …   New thesaurus

  • Duress — For English law on the criminal defences, see duress in English law. For the American film, see Duress (film) …   Wikipedia

  • duress — Any unlawful threat or coercion used by a person to induce another to act (or to refrain from acting) in a manner he or she otherwise would not (or would). Subjecting person to improper pressure which overcomes his will and coerces him to comply… …   Black's law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”