ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Duress in American law

Okay, kiddo, let's talk about duress in American law. Do you know what duress means? It's when someone makes you do something by threatening to hurt you or someone you love. Duress is not legal in America, which means it's against the law to make someone do something by threatening them.

Let me give you an example. Let's say someone wants you to steal a toy from the store. If they threaten to hurt you if you don't do it, and you feel like you have no choice but to steal the toy, that's duress. In that case, you wouldn't get in trouble for stealing the toy, because you were forced to do it.

But, here's the tricky part. Duress is only a defense in specific situations. For example, if someone is using duress to make you commit a crime, like stealing, and you get caught, you can use duress as a defense in court. However, this only works if you can prove that you were under duress and had no other choice.

Duress also doesn't work in some situations. For example, if someone forces you to sign a contract or do something else that's not illegal, duress wouldn't be a defense. In those cases, you should still try to say no and seek help if you're being threatened.

Overall, remember that duress is when someone forces you to do something by threatening you. It's against the law in America, but it only works as a defense if you can prove that you had no other choice.