Entrapment is when a government agent provokes a person into committing a crime. For example, if you’re in a bar and an officer offers you drugs in a baggie and states that if you deliver them he’ll give you $1,000, then that could be considered to be entrapment.
Government agents must be the people who give you the drugs to end up in a situation that involves entrapment. Even civilians working for an official government investigation could entrap others. It’s important to know who gave you the drugs and what their relationship is with the police. That’s something that your attorney will discuss immediately, because entrapment is one good reason to get your case thrown out and dismissed in court.
When you try to have your case dismissed because of entrapment or defend yourself with a claim of entrapment, you need to show that you would not have committed the crime without the undue persuasion of the government agent. You’ll also be able to use the defense by stating that the government agent actually encouraged the crime and created a risk that caused someone who would not normally commit a crime to do so.
Entrapment doesn’t just happen in drug cases. It can happen when people are charged with sex offenses, bribery or other crimes.
If you believe that you’ve been a victim of entrapment and now face a charge because of it, you’re not alone. This kind of incident does happen more frequently than you may believe. Our website has more on how to fight back against unfair charges, so you can protect your freedoms.