» For English law on the criminal defense, see duress in English law. For contract law, see Duress (contract law) Duress or coercion (as a term of jurisprudence)'s a possible legal defense, one of four of the most important justification defenses, by which defendants argue that they shouldn't be held liable because the actions that broke the law were only performed out of an immediate fear of injury. Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed.) defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to… (More on Duress)