In Minnesota, entrapment is a defense to prosecution that a person was induced into committing a crime by a law enforcement agent using persuasion or other means likely to cause persons to commit the offense. If successfully proven, entrapment can result in the defendant being acquitted of the charges.
When it comes to using entrapment as a defense, it is important to have a criminal defense lawyer who understands entrapment.
Apple Valley Minnesota Criminal Defense Lawyer
James Blumberg is a qualified criminal defense attorney who focuses on criminal defense. With extensive experience serving Minnesota, Blumberg will fight hard to protect you against a criminal charge.
To find out more about how an experienced criminal defense attorney can help your case, call us today at (952) 431-7758. Your first consultation is free, so call now.
What is Entrapment?
Entrapment is coercion into a crime by an officer of the law. Entrapment can come in many forms and can happen to anyone, some examples can include:
- Drug Dealing: An undercover officer repeatedly pressures a person who has no history of drug dealing to sell drugs. The officer offers large sums of money and insists that it’s a one-time deal. The person eventually gives in and sells the drugs, even though they had no intention or predisposition to do so before the officer’s persuasion.
- Prostitution Sting: A police officer poses as a client and approaches an individual who has never engaged in prostitution. The officer repeatedly offers money and convinces the person to engage in a sexual act for payment. The person, who would not have done so otherwise, agrees only after persistent persuasion by the officer.
- Theft Setup: Law enforcement sets up a scenario where they leave valuable items in plain sight, with an undercover officer continuously encouraging a passerby to take the items, insisting that it’s easy money and that no one will notice. The passerby, who had no prior intention of stealing, eventually takes the items due to the officer’s urging.
- Bribery Trap: A government official, acting undercover, repeatedly offers a public servant a bribe to expedite a permit. The public servant initially refuses but is eventually worn down by the persistent offers and agrees to take the bribe, despite having no previous inclination to do so.
- Online Child Exploitation: An undercover officer poses as a minor in an online chatroom and starts a conversation with an adult who has never shown interest in minors. The officer, posing as the minor, initiates suggestive conversations and repeatedly encourages the adult to engage in illegal activities, which the adult eventually does only after persistent persuasion by the officer.
How can you prove entrapment?
Proving entrapment involves demonstrating that a law enforcement officer or government agent induced you to commit a crime that you were not otherwise predisposed to commit. Here’s how you can go about proving entrapment:
1. Show Evidence of Government Inducement
- Documentation: Gather any records that show the government agent initiated contact or repeatedly encouraged you to commit the crime. This can include texts, emails, phone records, or recorded conversations.
- Cross-Examine the Agent: During trial, your lawyer can cross-examine the government agent to reveal the tactics they used to persuade you to commit the crime. This can expose any coercive or manipulative methods they employed.
2. Demonstrate Lack of Predisposition
- Prior Behavior: Show that you had no prior involvement or interest in the criminal activity before the government agent’s inducement. If possible, provide examples where you resisted similar temptations or opportunities to commit the crime.
- Personal History: Introduce evidence of your personal history, including lack of prior criminal conduct, to demonstrate that you were not inclined to commit the crime on your own.
3. Highlight the Government Agent’s Methods
- Argue Excessive Persuasion: Argue that the government agent used excessive or overbearing methods to get you to commit the crime. This can include pressure tactics, offers of large sums of money, or repeated attempts to convince you despite initial refusals.
- Examine the Agent’s Conduct: Show that the agent’s behavior was not just offering an opportunity to commit a crime but was actively pushing you toward it. The focus should be on whether their actions went beyond merely presenting an opportunity and crossed into coercion.
4. Legal Strategy
- File a Motion for Dismissal: Your lawyer can file a motion to dismiss the charges based on entrapment before the trial, arguing that the government’s conduct was so egregious that the case should be thrown out.
- Prepare a Strong Defense: If the case goes to trial, your lawyer will present all the evidence gathered to the jury, focusing on showing that the crime would not have occurred but for the government’s inducement.
Additional Resources
- State v. Ford, 276 N.W.2d: In State v. Ford, the court of Michigan reaffirmed its position in the procederal applications for entrapment defenses.
James Blumberg Law – A Criminal Process Lawyer in Dakota County
If you have been charged with a crime in which you believe you cohereced into by a law enforcement officer, you do not have to tackle the criminal justice system alone. Contact Dakota County criminal defense attorney James Blumberg at (952) 431-7758 to begin building a strong defense. Your future is important, and he can use his knowledge and experience on both sides of the law to help you protect it.
James Blumberg Law accepts clients in Dakota County and other surrounding communities including Rice County, Carver County, Scott County, Sibley County, Dodge County, Steele County, and Sibley County.