Also known as: person of reasonable firmness · reasonable firmness test · duress reasonable person
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The objective standard used to determine whether a threat of unlawful force is sufficient to excuse criminal conduct under the duress defense. It measures whether an ordinary person placed in the defendant's particular circumstances would have been unable to resist the coercion.
Phoebe Park, a residential property manager, was confronted in a parking lot by an enforcer who pressed a knife into her side and threatened to harm her elderly parents that night unless she forged eviction signatures. Phoebe complied with the order. A jury applying the reasonable-firmness standard would evaluate whether an ordinary person facing an immediate knife and a credible threat to vulnerable family members could have resisted the coercion.
Preston Pratt, an inmate, was repeatedly beaten by fellow prisoners who threatened further violence unless he escaped during a work detail. Preston fled the facility. A court would decide whether a person of reasonable firmness in Preston's situation, including the history of beatings and the ongoing threat, could have resisted the pressure to escape.
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The test is objective. It asks what a person of ordinary firmness would have done when placed in the defendant's situation, rather than whether this particular defendant was strong enough to resist.
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Yes. The phrase incorporates the defendant's situation, so specialized training, prior knowledge of risks, or other circumstances may be considered when deciding whether a reasonable person could have resisted.
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Yes. The defense expressly covers threats of unlawful force against the defendant or another person, and threats to family members are classic examples that a reasonable person might be unable to resist.
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The defense is unavailable if the actor recklessly placed himself in a situation in which duress was probable. Prior warnings ignored or voluntary association with known violent actors can trigger this bar.
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Yes. Whether a person of reasonable firmness in the defendant's situation could have resisted is ordinarily a factual question for the jury to decide on the evidence presented.
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