Entrapment

Know Your Rights:  Entrapment

Entrapment.  You see it on TV all the time, but what is it really? 

Entrapment occurs if the intent to commit the crime did not originate from the defendant, but rather from the actions of the police.  If the criminal design originated with the police (or someone working with the police) and the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime prior to the police’s actions, then the entrapment defense is available. 

For example, in one United States Supreme Court case, Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369 (1958), the defendant’s conviction for drug trafficking was reversed where a recovering drug addict who was working with the police convinced the defendant to buy drugs for him by telling the defendant that he couldn’t get the drugs himself.  The Court held that the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime for which he was convicted, since although he had two prior drug convictions, the most recent dated back five years. Additional evidence showed that the defendant was attempting to rehabilitate himself and that he had made no profit on the drug transaction.  Moreover, no drugs were found in his apartment when it was searched.  The totality of the evidence, therefore, suggested the absence of a predisposition to break drug laws. 

Entrapment is a complicated defense, and many defense attorneys are not willing to pursue it.  However, since David Boone founded this firm 30 years ago, no Boone Beale attorney has ever been deterred by the complexity of a defense strategy.  This is simply another example of Boone Beale’s willingness to pursue every avenue and exploit every potential defense to achieve a favorable result for our clients.

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