Keywords: Alibi, Entrapment, Statute of limitations, Violation of Constitutional, Rights, Duress or Coercion, Necessity, Intoxication, Self-Defense, Defense of Property, Insanity
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1. Definition– What Are Defenses?
Defenses are a variety of conditions that can excuse someone from a criminal charge, such as self-defense or involuntary intoxication. Defenses to criminal liability can either reduce or negate a defendant’s liability to a crime.
How do defenses work?
Defenses justify someone’s behavior by canceling out the elements of crime. Let’s take involuntary intoxication for example: if someone was drugged and did not know what he/she was doing, involuntary intoxication as a defense can negate the intent element of some crimes.
There are many types of defenses to criminal liability. In this article, we will explore the 10 most common ones. These are as follows:
- Alibi
- Entrapment
- Statute of limitations
- Violation of Constitutional Rights
- Duress or Coercion
- Necessity
- Intoxication
- Self-Defense
- Defense of Property
- Insanity
2. Alibi
An alibi is a type of defense where information about a defendant’s whereabouts suggest that he/she was not at the crime scene when the crime was committed.
For example, if Amy is charged with shoplifting at a bookstore two blocks away from her college, she can present evidence that she was out of town for holiday and, accordingly, is not the person who shoplifted.
Alibi can be based on and strengthened by testimonies from witnesses, CCTV footage, phone records, and/or credit card receipts.
3. Entrapment
Entrapment is a type of defense used to negate criminal liability when the crime committed was induced by a law enforcement officer. In other words, this means when the defendant would not have ordinarily committed the crime if the officer had not induced the defendant.
An example would be if a law enforcement agent induced a suspect to rob a store, with the promise of a monetary reward. If the suspect is arrested after having committed the robbery, this would be considered entrapment by inducement.
Opportunity does not equal entrapment
Since our law expects people to resist the common temptation to commit a crime, an entrapment does not exist if a law enforcement officer only provides an opportunity for the defendant to commit a crime. The officer’s behavior may only amount to entrapment when repugnant behaviors (ex. threatening) are involved.
For example, an undercover agent told a drug dealer that he was not a cop and he wanted to buy some drugs for a party. The drug dealer sold him the drug and was then arrested. In this case, the officer did not entrap the drug dealer because he was simply offering an opportunity to violate the law and no repugnant behavior was involved.
4. Statute of limitations
The statute of limitations is the time limit for the prosecution to file charges against a suspect. Therefore, if the prosecution wanted to file charges against a suspect 5 years after the crime was committed (the general federal statute of limitations for felonies is 5 years), they would be unable to do so.
Laws for the statute of limitations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. There are also several exceptions to the general 5-year federal statute of limitations.
5. Violation of Constitutional Rights
As we have discussed in our article “Constitutional Rights in Criminal Proceedings,” under due process protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, everyone is entitled to certain constitutional rights during criminal proceedings. These include the right against unreasonable search and seizure, and the right against self-incrimination.
Law enforcement officers sometimes make mistakes that violate the Constitution during the process of collecting evidence and arresting suspects. Common mistakes include failure to obtain a warrant for entry and failure to read the Miranda Rights when arresting a suspect. These mistakes that violate one’s constitutional rights can be used as defenses to suppress evidence or even dismiss the entire case.
6. Duress or Coercion
Under criminal law in the United States, a defendant of a crime may be excused if he/she can prove that he/she was coerced into committing the crime. An example would be that classic scene we have all seen in the movies where someone is pointing a gun to the defendant to coerce the defendant to do something illegal.
However, there are certain crimes, such as murder, that cannot use defense of duress to justify the action. In addition, in order to use defense of duress to excuse a crime, the defendant must show evidence of three key elements: (1) immediate threat, (2) legitimate fear, and (3) no reasonable way to escape.
7. Necessity
Necessity defense, also called the “lesser of two evils”, refers to the type of defense where a defendant violates the law in order to prevent a greater harm from occurring. For example, in State v. Cole, the defendant drove with a suspended license to find a phone in order to make an emergency call. The appellate court ruled that the defendant should be allowed to use necessity as defense, given the fact that under such circumstances, one might have no choice but to engage in illegal offense.
8. Intoxication
Intoxication defense is a type of defense where a defendant claims he/ she did not know what he/she was doing because of substance intoxication. Intoxication as a defense can negate the intent element of a crime, making the crime unable to be constituted. However, intoxication defense is available for very limited situations and it often depends on whether the defendant was voluntary or involuntary.
9. Insanity
In the United States, the federal jurisdiction and every state, except for Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Kansas, allow defendants to use insanity as a defense. That is, a criminal defendant that is legally insane may be excused from the offense, if one of the following has been proven:
(1) he/she did not understand what he/she was doing
(2) he/she is unable to control the impulse
(3) the mental defects caused his/her action
(4) he/she cannot discern right from wrong
10. Self-Defense or Defense of Others
Self-defense or defense of others can justify one’s behavior when the defendant used violence to protect himself/herself or others from violent threat. Self-defense and defense of others is commonly raised for assault, battery and murder cases.
11. Defense of Property
The defense-of-property defense can be raised to justify the use of force when the defendant was trying to protect his/her rights to property, including land and personal items. However, unlike self-defense and defense of others, defense of property cannot justify the use of lethal force against someone. In other words, when protecting one’s property, he/she can only use non-lethal force.
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