Bryanna Christensen WA #4 4. The book explains how the criminal courts handle duress when a defendant enters a plea agreement. When working with the criminal defense attorney, I got to see first hand how that part works. The state offers the plea, and the defense attorney goes over each bit of it with the defendant before they can sign it. However, even if it is signed, it is the judge that decides if it will be accepted. The judge asks the defendant if he or she was promised anything in return for taking the plea or if they were forced. In civil court, this might be harder to make an objective standard. Thinking back to the example of Pat and Lou and if she had threatened to poison his dog, there is no witness to say she had. The court would have to take his word on it to be released from the contract. To say he felt threatened for the safety of his dog. Maybe she didn't threaten the dog and is just wanting him to pay for the damage. I feel as though there cannot be any general standard to unconscionablety or