§ 12.1-05-10 — Duress

North Dakota § 12.1-05-10

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 12.1: Criminal Code
• Ch. 12.1-05: Justification - Excuse - Affirmative Defenses

Text

1. In a prosecution for any offense, it is an affirmative defense that the actor engaged in
the proscribed conduct because he was compelled to do so by threat of imminent
death or serious bodily injury to himself or to another. In a prosecution for an offense
which does not constitute a felony, it is an affirmative defense that the actor engaged
in the proscribed conduct because he was compelled to do so by force or threat of
force. Compulsion within the meaning of this section exists only if the force, threat, or
circumstances are such as would render a person of reasonable firmness incapable of
resisting the pressure.
2. The defense defined in this section is not available to a person who, by voluntarily
entering into a criminal enterprise, or otherwise, willfully placed himself in a situation in
which it was foreseeable that he would be subjected to duress. The defense is also
unavailable if he was negligent in placing himself in such a situation, whenever
negligence suffices to establish culpability for the offense charged.