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N.Y. PEN Law § 40.00

This is the official text of N.Y. PEN Law § 40.00, part of New York’s Penal Law — defines crimes and punishments in New York.

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Duress

Official statutory text

§ 40.00 Duress.\n 1. In any prosecution for an offense, it is an affirmative defense\nthat the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was\ncoerced to do so by the use or threatened imminent use of unlawful\nphysical force upon him or a third person, which force or threatened\nforce a person of reasonable firmness in his situation would have been\nunable to resist.\n 2. The defense of duress as defined in subdivision one of this section\nis not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places\nhimself in a situation in which it is probable that he will be subjected\nto duress.\n

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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