State v. Toscano

378 A.2d 755 (1977)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

State v. Toscano

New Jersey Supreme Court
378 A.2d 755 (1977)

Play video

Facts

William Leonardo was the architect of an insurance-fraud scheme whereby various individuals would fake medical injuries in order to obtain monetary settlements by false pretenses from insurance companies after completing and submitting fraudulent insurance claims. Dr. Joseph Toscano (defendant) was instructed by Leonardo to complete the fraudulent medical reports used in the scheme. Toscano was not only afraid of Leonardo, but also owed money to Leonardo’s brother for gambling debts. Consequently, Toscano went along with the fraudulent acts. Leonardo called Toscano’s home on a number of occasions and in a “boisterous and loud” and “vicious” tone would threaten Toscano and his wife with physical harm if he did not complete the medical reports. Toscano complied out of fear for his and his wife’s safety. After he completed his tasks, Toscano and his wife moved and they changed their telephone number in hopes of avoiding contact by Leonardo. Leonardo, Toscano and 11 others were charged with conspiring to defraud the Kemper Insurance Company. Leonardo pled guilty. Toscano went to trial and testified that he completed a false medical report, but did so under duress. After Toscano’s testimony, the trial judge granted the prosecution’s motion to exclude any further testimony in connection with Toscano’s claim of duress, and announced his decision not to charge the jury on that defense. The jury convicted Toscano and he appealed. The appellate court affirmed Toscano’s conviction and the New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed the status of duress as an affirmative defense in a criminal case.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pashman, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 798,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 798,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 798,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership