VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 52.300
Duress
If you find from the evidence that the defendant acted under duress, then you must find him not
guilty. In order for the defendant to use the defense of duress, you must find from the evidence
that he was threatened and that he had a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily
injury. The defense of duress is not available if the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to
escape and did not do so, or if he had a reasonable opportunity to avoid committing the crime
without being harmed.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
91384ad69198c29f4bb26890316b7bfa2439dbd2b1de76ea6b7c58a1e1dd9147
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