Summary of United States v. Contento-Pachon, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1984

Facts:

• D a Colombian Taxi driver
• Threatened by drug dealers to swallow balloons of cocaine and transport to U.S. or they will kill his wife and child
• D didn’t report it to police because thought that police were corrupt.

Procedure:

• District ct. refused to introduce the evidence for duress and necessity.

Issue: Did the ct. err by refusing the D to introduce evidence of: Duress, Necessity?

Holding: Yes, No

Rationale:

• Elements of Duress:
• • an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury
  • a well-grounded fear that the threat will be carried out
  • no reasonable opportunity to escape the threatened harm
• in this case, immediate threat and the jury can decide that D had no reasonable opportunity to escape and his fear was genuine

No necessity in this case because threat from a person and no promotion of