Consent in Law Research Essay

In terms of the law, coercion

In terms of the law, coercion is when one person uses physical or fatal threats to coerce the other into committing a crime. (Miller, 2015, p. 159). The common law in duress defense states that the coercive threats must be greater than the crime done. The threat-maker must be physically present, demonstrating an impending danger to the person being forced, according to the Canadian statutory duress defense. The accused must have felt pressured to perform the crime and had no way to escape the circumstance. (Allen, 2013, p. 181: Dressler, 2002, p. 141). The alleged duress and a crime must both have been done. For example, a person may sign a contract under duress. If the accused was presented by a document binding him to a debt and injury was imminent in case he or she did not sign, the Canadian laws on duress would be applicable. The accused did not sign the document willingly hence the aspect of duress.

Consent

Consent refers to voluntary conformity to taking part in criminal activity by the complainant such as sexual activity (Santos, 2012, p. 79). The Canadian law rules out the consent of a person to death or abduction for a minor. Conformity is not a defense in occasions where the complainant is unconscious or incapable of confirming the approval. The law accepts consent from the individual and not a representative. Abuse of power or trust is not applicable in using consent as a defense (Olshaker, Jackson & Smock, 2007, p. 131). Sexual offenses such as bestiality and rape fail to meet the minimum threshold that uses consent as the defense (Hoiberg & Ramchandani, 2000, p. 417). The complainant must agree to permit as a way of vindicating the accused from crime. Besides, sexual offenses against minors can not apply consent as a defense mechanism due to possible manipulation of the child as well as the lack of moral authority by the defendant.

References

Allen, M. (2013). Textbook on criminal law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dressler, J. (2002). Encyclopedia of crime and justice. New York: Macmillan Reference USA.

Hoiberg, D. & Ramchandani, I. (2000). Students’ Britannica India. New Delhi: Encyclopaedia Britannica (India.

Miller, R. L. (2015). Business Law Today, Standard: Text & Summarized Cases. Nelson Education.

Olshaker, J., Jackson, M. & Smock, W. (2007). Forensic emergency medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Santos, R. (2012). Crime analysis with crime mapping. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.