If you have been charged with a crime in Florida, do not lose hope. There are many ways to successfully fight a criminal charge. Attorney Ron Herman will review the individual circumstances surrounding your criminal charge to determine what the strongest possible defense may be. One type of defense that is used in criminal cases is the entrapment defense. The courts developed this defense to make sure that law enforcement officers were not “creating” criminals with their actions, but trying to secure those individuals who were already intent on perpetrating a crime. When successfully used, an entrapment defense can lead to a dismissal of criminal charges. Contact Ron Herman today to discuss the best defense strategy to clear you of all criminal charges you are up against.
What is the Entrapment Defense?
If you are facing a charge for a crime you would not have committed had it been for some type of coercion employed by law enforcement officials, you may be able to raise an entrapment defense. While law enforcement officers are well within their rights to present situations where suspected criminals would engage in a criminal activity, such as an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer, they cannot effectively compel someone to participate in a criminal activity they otherwise would have had no intention of participating in.
It can be a complicated and detail oriented defense to mount. To be successful in raising entrapment, the accused, or defendant, must be able to show that:
- Law enforcement introduced the idea of committing the crime;
- The accused had no predisposition for committing the crime; and
- Law enforcement used coercion to provoke the accused to commit the crime.
In Florida, a defendant may raise an objective or subjective entrapment defense. The objective entrapment defense places the focus on the actions of law enforcement officials and whether they may have improperly acted to compel an individual to commit a crime. This is usually used in cases where police misconduct was particularly egregious to the point where an individual’s due process rights under the Florida Constitution were violated. With objective entrapment, the court is really looking for circumstances were law enforcement created a crime as opposed to apprehending a person who was already intent on committing a crime.
Subjective entrapment places the focus on the actions of the defendant. To successfully raise this defense, it must be shown that the defendant had no predisposition to commit the crime. This can be difficult. With objective entrapment, you are focusing on the actions of law enforcement officers. With subjective entrapment, you must show that the actions or inactions of the defendant show that he would not have done something like commit the crime in question. Proving an inclination towards inaction can be more complex than pointing to actual actions that occurred.
Zealous Advocate Defending You Against All Criminal Charges.
Law enforcement officers are supposed to stop criminals, not create them. That is the entire basis of the entrapment defense. If the egregious actions of law enforcement officers induced you to commit a crime you would not have otherwise committed, the entrapment defense might be the path to having all charges dropped. Contact Herman Law, P.A. today, and find out what defenses may be raised to help you fight a criminal charge you are currently up against.