defense lawyer – accusation-of-coercion
Are you looking for an experienced defense attorney because you have been accused of coercion? Give us a call! Jüdemann Attorneys at Law!
What actually is coercion? When is coercion reprehensible? What is the threat of harm? How is coercion punished? What are particularly serious cases? Is the attempt also punished?
Coercion (Section 240 StGB) is legally defined as an act in which someone is made to do, tolerate or refrain from doing something that he or she would not otherwise do through the unlawful use of force or the threat of a serious evil. The victim is therefore forced to behave in a certain way against his or her will. In order to constitute the offence of coercion, certain means must be used, such as violence or threats of serious harm, and the desired behavior must be achieved.
Anyone who coerces violates another person’s freedom to decide and exercise their will. Or in simple terms, you impose your will on another person without the other person really wanting it. Any action is a criminal offense, but only the procedures defined by the legislator. The action must also be reprehensible.
All clear? Probably not!
Yet it is so easy to “coerce”. A classic example is trying to force open a door that another person is holding shut or putting your foot in a door (see Cologne Regional Court, judgment of April 25, 2014 – 7 O 362/11). In this case, another person’s will is forced upon them. By using force, the person affected carries out an action or omission desired by the perpetrator. He imposes his will on the person who wants to close the door or keep it closed.
However, this alone does not make the act unlawful. This requires a further element: the use of force in the aforementioned case must be considered reprehensible for the intended purpose. For example, it is conceivable that the door is to be forced open because the stairwell in which the perpetrator is located is full of smoke, or the perpetrator wants to enter his own apartment and therefore wants to force open the door that is being held shut.
The question of whether coercion is involved therefore always depends on the individual case.
As the legal assessment can change from case to case, it is urgently necessary to consult an experienced defense lawyer if you are accused of coercion.
Investigation proceedings due to the accusation of coercion.
If you have received a summons from the police or a hearing letter, you should seek legal assistance immediately. In most cases, do not try to solve the problem yourself, just waiting or not reacting in a preliminary investigation can quickly lead to the local court issuing a penalty order at the suggestion of the public prosecutor’s office on the basis of the findings to date. In this case, you only have two weeks to lodge an objection to the penalty order and are already in court proceedings.
It is advisable to instruct a lawyer and then ask the public prosecutor’s office to inspect the files via the police. What you should do is make a statement without knowledge of the file, so you are strongly advised not to comply with a police summons. You are not obliged to do so.
