What do you do if a prostitute approaches you and offers you sexual favors in exchange for payment, then after you hand over the money, she pulls out her police badge? You weren’t exactly seeking out a prostitute, so is it fair for you to be fined or prosecuted for solicitation?
Entrapment can take on many forms, but the basis for all of them is for someone in law enforcement convinces someone to commit a crime that they might not have otherwise committed if the trap weren’t in place. In Florida, there are two types of defenses to entrapment that are recognized under laws – objective entrapment and subjective entrapment. An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you understand both of these better.
Subjective Entrapment
When you hear the term entrapment, this is the type of entrapment that most people think of. This statute states that a law enforcement officer induces another person to engage in a crime by employing methods of inducement or persuasion which creates a risk that a crime will be committed.
Whether it is to entice a rehabilitating addict to buy drugs, an activist to become more violent, or another action, this type of entrapment makes people act in a manner that they likely would not have done if they hadn’t been encouraged to do so. Many times, police departments are so caught up in their job performance that they fail to see that they are entrapping otherwise innocent individuals.
To prove entrapment, your criminal defense attorney must prove that you were induced into such criminal actions by the actions of the law enforcement officials and that you wouldn’t have acted in this manner had you not been encouraged to do so.
Objective Entrapment
This deals with law enforcement actions on a much larger scale and occurs when a situation features egregious conduct by law officials that encourages or forces individuals to commit a crime. For example, a surveillance operation comes up empty handed, but the officers have invested so much time into it that they create circumstances that an individual becomes a criminal. This type of defense of entrapment is much less common than subjective entrapment.
When the Defenses Don’t Work
If the crime would have occurred without the encouragement of a law enforcement official, then entrapment will be a hard defense to prove. However, it will be the job of the prosecution to illustrate that the crime would have been committed regardless of the encouragement of the undercover officer. This means that the defendant would have already been predisposed to committing the crime with or without encouragement.
Contact an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
The best way to find out if entrapment could be a defense for your charges is to contact the experienced attorneys at O’Mara Law Group. Our Orlando criminal attorneys will review the details of your case and give you the legal advice you need to make an informed decision. Every case is different, but we understand the intricacies of the legal system and will work to ensure that your rights are protected. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
