CALCRIM No. 3414. Coercion (Pen. Code, § 236.23)

Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2020 edition)

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3414.Coercion (Pen. Code, § 236.23)
The defendant is not guilty of <insert crime[s]> if (he/she)
acted because of coercion.
In order to establish this defense, the defendant must prove that:
1. (He/She) acted because of coercion;
2. The coercion was a direct result of being a victim of human
trafficking at the time the defendant acted;
AND
3. When the defendant acted, (he/she) had a reasonable fear of
harm.
To prove that the defendant was the victim of human trafficking, the
defendant must prove that:
1. Another person either deprived the defendant of personal liberty
or violated the defendant’s personal liberty;
[AND]
<Give Alternative 2A if the defendant claims he or she was the victim of
human traffıcking under subsection (a).>
[2A. When the other person acted, (he/she) intended to obtain forced
labor or services(./;)]
[OR]
<Give Alternative 2B if the defendant alleges he or she was the victim of
human traffıcking under subsection (b).>
[2B. When the other person acted, (he/she) intended to (commit/ [or]
maintain) a [felony] violation of <insert appropriate
code section[s]>).]
Depriving or violating a person’s personal liberty, as used here, includes
substantial and sustained restriction of a person’s liberty accomplished
through <insert terms that apply from statutory definition, i.e.:
force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace, or threat of
unlawful injury> to the person under circumstances in which the person
receiving or perceiving the threat reasonably believes that it is likely that
the person making the threat would carry it out.
[Forced labor or services, as used here, means labor or services that are
performed or provided by a person and are obtained or maintained
through force, fraud, duress, or coercion, or equivalent conduct that
would reasonably overbear the will of the person.]
953
[Duress means a direct or implied threat of force, violence, danger,
hardship, or retribution that is enough to cause a reasonable person to
do [or submit to] something that he or she would not otherwise do [or
submit to].]
[Duress includes (a direct or implied threat to destroy, conceal, remove,
confiscate, or possess any actual or purported passport or immigration
document of the other person/ [or] knowingly destroying, concealing,
removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or
immigration document of the other person).]
[Violence means using physical force that is greater than the force
reasonably necessary to restrain someone.]
[Menace means a verbal or physical threat of harm[, including use of a
deadly weapon]. The threat of harm may be express or implied.]
[Coercion includes any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a
person to believe that failing to perform an act would result in (serious
harm to or physical restraint against someone else/ [or] the abuse or
threatened abuse of the legal process/ [or] debt bondage/ [or] providing
or facilitating the possession of any controlled substance to impair the
other person’s judgment).]
[When you decide whether the other person (used duress/ [or] used
coercion/ [or] deprived the defendant of personal liberty or violated the
defendant’s personal liberty), consider all of the circumstances, including
the age of the defendant, (his/her) relationship to the other person [or
the other person’s agent[s]], and the defendant’s handicap or disability, if
any.
New September 2017
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court must instruct on a defense when the defendant requests it and there is
substantial evidence supporting the defense. The court has a sua sponte duty to
instruct on a defense if there is substantial evidence supporting it and either the
defendant is relying on it or it is not inconsistent with the defendant’s theory of the
case.
When the court concludes that the defense is supported by substantial evidence and
is inconsistent with the defendant’s theory of the case, however, it should ascertain
whether defendant wishes instruction on this alternate theory. (People v. Gonzales
(1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 382, 389-390 [88 Cal.Rptr.2d 111]; People v. Breverman
(1998) 19 Cal.4th 142, 157 [77 Cal.Rptr.2d 870, 960 P.2d 1094].)
Substantial evidence means evidence, which, if believed, would be sufficient for a
CALCRIM No. 3414 DEFENSES AND INSANITY
954
reasonable jury to find that the defendant has shown the defense to be more likely
than not true.
This defense does not apply to a serious felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of
Penal Code section 1192.7, or a violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of
Penal Code section 667.5, or a violation of Penal Code section 236.1.
AUTHORITY
• Instructional Requirements. Pen. Code, § 236.23.
• Definition of Coercion. Pen. Code, § 236.1(h)(1).
• Burden of Proof. People v. Waters (1985) 163 Cal.App.3d 935, 938 [209
Cal.Rptr. 661]; People v. Condley (1977) 69 Cal.App.3d 999, 1008 [138
Cal.Rptr. 515].
• Human Trafficking Elements and Definitions. Pen. Code, § 236.1.
• Menace Defined [in context of false imprisonment]. People v. Matian (1995)
35 Cal.App.4th 480, 484-486 [41 Cal.Rptr.2d 459].
• Violence Defined [in context of false imprisonment]. People v. Babich (1993)
14 Cal.App.4th 801, 806 [18 Cal.Rptr.2d 60].
Related Instruction
See CALCRIM No. 1243, Human Traffıcking.
SECONDARY SOURCES
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 142, Human
Traffıcking, § 142.14A (Matthew Bender).
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