Opinion ID: 879881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Duress and necessity defense.

Text: Pease presented testimony from several witnesses that showed both he and the victim were emotionally distraught and were compelled to see each other. To justify his actions because of these claimed emotional conditions cannot be tolerated. Duress and necessity are not, per se, included as defenses in the Montana Code. Compulsion, however, is an acceptable defense. Section 45-2-212, MCA. See also, State v. Owens (1979), 182 Mont. 338, 347, 597 P.2d 72, 77. The circumstances of this case do not satisfy the requirements for a compulsion defense. Whether Pease or the victim acted under duress or necessity is a question of fact adequately resolved by the District Judge. There was no error by the District Court in its finding that his claimed duress and necessity were not a defense.