24 Jan What Is Entrapment, and How Can It Be Used As a Defense?
Entrapment happens when a law enforcement officer uses deceptive means to convince a citizen to commit a crime. In Arizona, entrapment can be used as an affirmative defense in criminal cases. Using this type of defense can be a complicated process, and you’ll need a proven attorney on your side.
What Does Entrapment Mean?
In brief, entrapment happens when law enforcement convinces an otherwise law-abiding person to commit a crime. Typically this means those with prior criminal convictions are not good candidates for this defense. This is because they may have a difficult time proving that they were not already willing to commit the crime, especially if the previous charges and the current charges are the same.
Three key factors must be present to meet the definition of entrapment.
Law Enforcement Must:
- Suggest the idea
- Provide an opportunity
- Coerce or force the person to commit a crime
Opportunity or Entrapment?
This defense is complicated because of how close opportunity arrests (sting operations) and entrapment can look. The key difference is law enforcement’s influence over the defendant’s actions. To be considered entrapment, the defendant must have been forced to commit the crime. This could look like the defendant being threatened with physical harm, blackmailed into participation, or otherwise coerced into committing the crime.
Let’s look at an example: A person is arrested in a park for selling drugs to an undercover officer. Another undercover officer set up the meeting, claiming the person was a friend. The undercover officer gives the defendant the time, location and name of the person they are meeting.
As it stands this is an example of opportunity arrest. While law enforcement suggested the idea, and provided the opportunity, they did not FORCE the defendant to show up.
For our example to be entrapment, the original undercover law enforcement officer would have also had to coerce or force the defendant to sell the drugs.
How Can Entrapment Be Used as a Criminal Defense?
In Arizona entrapment is a type of affirmative defense. That means the defendant does not deny the fact that they committed a crime, only that they are not responsible for the outcome of their actions. Since there is no denying the crime, the defense is responsible for the burden of proof. They must provide the evidence needed to justify the defendant’s actions.
To use entrapment as a criminal defense, they must prove that the defendant was coerced into committing a crime, and they would not have taken these actions under any other circumstances. Typically, this means proving that law enforcement officers set up the opportunity for a crime and then pressured the defendant to commit it.
There are several possible outcomes for using entrapment as a defense.
- Dismissed charges. There will be no punishment for the crime, and there will be no criminal conviction on record.
- Probations may be offered in lieu of jail or prison time. Probation is often community service, education or counseling, and check-ins with a probation officer.
- Reduction in jail or prison sentencing.
Only a Certified Criminal Defense Attorney Can Win Your Case
Building a winning case is a complicated process, and it can be even more difficult with an affirmative defense like entrapment. Relying on yourself or an overworked public defender could have disastrous consequences for your future. Only a certified defense attorney like Todd Coolidge has the experience, knowledge, and skill it takes to mount this defense. His belief in a personal touch means that your case is never thrown to the side or shoved into inexperienced hands. If you are facing criminal charges, contact us today to schedule a consultation.
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