This bill proposes to amend Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-412, which governs the defense of duress in criminal cases. Under current law, the duress defense is unavailable if the individual intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly placed themselves in a situation likely to result in duress, or if the offense involves homicide or serious physical injury. The bill seeks to expand the list of offenses for which the duress defense is unavailable by adding specific crimes, including child sex trafficking, failure to report child abuse, child or vulnerable adult abuse, sexual offenses, and the sexual exploitation of children.

The proposed changes include the insertion of new language that clarifies the conditions under which the duress defense is not applicable, specifically detailing the additional offenses that would disallow this defense. Additionally, the bill makes technical changes to improve the clarity of the statute. Overall, if enacted, this bill would tighten the criteria for claiming duress as a defense in certain serious criminal cases.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 13-412