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Street LAw Unit 2 Chapter 10 Defenses

The document outlines various legal defenses in criminal law, including claims of no crime committed, alibi, justifiable defenses like self-defense, and circumstances that render a defendant not criminally responsible such as infancy, intoxication, insanity, entrapment, duress, and necessity. It emphasizes that defenses must demonstrate reasonable actions or lack of intent. Notably, the insanity defense is rarely successful and is legally distinct from psychological concepts.

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Domenic Martelli
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19 views13 pages

Street LAw Unit 2 Chapter 10 Defenses

The document outlines various legal defenses in criminal law, including claims of no crime committed, alibi, justifiable defenses like self-defense, and circumstances that render a defendant not criminally responsible such as infancy, intoxication, insanity, entrapment, duress, and necessity. It emphasizes that defenses must demonstrate reasonable actions or lack of intent. Notably, the insanity defense is rarely successful and is legally distinct from psychological concepts.

Uploaded by

Domenic Martelli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Defenses

1
Defense: No crime has been
committed
• Generally falls into 2 categories:
• No crime
– Yes, I had a gun, but I had a valid license
– No, it was not rape because the partner was of age
and consented
• No criminal intent
– Yes I took the coat but it was an honest mistake…
I thought it was mine.
• …or the elements were not proven
2
Defense: This defendant did not
commit the crime
• Alibi
– Evidence the
defendant was
somewhere else at
the time the crime
was committed
“Someone else did it.”

3
“Justifiable” defenses
• Defendant committed an act that would
ordinarily be considered a crime
• But the act is excusable or otherwise justifiable
– Self-defense
– Defense of property? Can’t use deadly force
• Key: defendant must act REASONABLY
• Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law and the Trayvon
Martin case (in your text, page 128, these are called “Make
My Day” laws)

4
Not criminally responsible
• Infancy
• Intoxication
• Insanity
• Entrapment
• Duress
• Necessity

5
Not criminally responsible:
Infancy
• Usually children under 7 are considered
legally incapable of committing a crime
• Between 7 and 14 there is a general
presumption that a child cannot commit a
crime to be adjudicated in criminal court
• Hearings will determine if the child should
be turned over to juvenile court

6
Not criminally responsible:
Intoxication
• Voluntary intoxication is NOT a defense
• Could be a valid defense if proof of a
specific mental state is required
• Ex.: charge is assault with intent to kill
– D was so drunk couldn’t form requisite intent
to kill
– D still guilty of assault; no intent required

7
Not criminally responsible:
Insanity
• Insanity is a LEGAL not psychological
concept
• 2 general ideas:
– People with mental disease or defect shouldn’t
be convicted if they don’t know what they are
doing or don’t know right from wrong
– Persons who lack “substantial capacity” to
appreciate the nature of an act or conform to the
law shouldn’t be convicted
8
Not criminally responsible:
Insanity
• Despite the notoriety of this defense, it is
seldom used
– About 1% of criminal cases in one study
• And when it is used, it is not very
successful
– Only about 25% of the time in the same study

9
Not criminally responsible:
Entrapment
• An act by law enforcement officials to
persuade someone to commit a crime that
the person would not have committed
otherwise
• Famous case of John Delorean (remember
the car in “Back to the Future?”)

10
11
Entrapment as a Defense: Duress
• Unlawful pressure to commit an act that a
person would not otherwise do
• Substantial and real threat or the perception of
a threat
• “Holding a gun to your head”

12
Not criminally responsible:
Necessity
• Driving without a license to get a dying
person to the hospital
• Breaking and entering to shut the gas off
when fire is a danger

13

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