Common Defenses to a Criminal Charge

Every person charged with a crime experiences a unique situation that requires a unique defense. However, a basic understanding of common defenses to a criminal charge can help those accused of a crime to understand their options and rights.

Pleading Not Guilty

Many of those accused of a crime are in fact innocent. A wrongful conviction is a great injustice and something the legal system seeks to avoid. That is why everyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. In order to prove guilt, a judge or jury must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual charged is guilty. Any reasonable doubt by a juror requires a finding of not guilty.

Common methods to prove innocence include having an alibi, showing impossibility and using eyewitness and expert testimony. An alibi shows that the accused could not have committed a crime because he or she was somewhere else at the time. Impossibility means that the crime was impossible to commit, whether by law or because of the circumstances of the case. Eyewitness testimony uses people at the scene of the crime to clear the suspect of any wrongdoing. An expert witness can use scientific or specialized knowledge to show it is unlikely or impossible the accused committed the crime.

The Exclusionary Rule

Another common method of fighting criminal charges is to defend an accused person's constitutional rights. Evidence obtained in violation of a constitutional right is subject to the exclusionary rule. This rule holds that in order to present evidence at trial, police must have gained it while still respecting the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protecting against unreasonable search and seizure. Evidence of illegal drugs obtained in a warrantless search of a home, for example, could not be shown to a jury in a subsequent drug charge.

Affirmative Defenses

Sometimes the law is not clear-cut between "guilty" and "innocent." Occasionally an individual will admit to the criminal act of which he or she is accused. However, a defendant can raise a defense that excuses, justifies or mitigates the act.

• Duress: If the accused was, at the time of the act, under an immediate or imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, that act is excused even if it otherwise violated the law.
• Entrapment: If the police instigate someone to commit a crime, the crime will be excused. However, if the individual had a predisposition to commit the crime, then entrapment cannot be used as a defense.

• Self-Defense or Defense of Others: A person may use reasonable force in response to the imminent use of force against himself or herself or another person.
• Double Jeopardy: This right protects a person from being tried for the same crime twice or from being punished for the same crime twice. Once acquitted of a crime, that individual will never be tried for that crime again.

This brief overview of common defenses is only introductory. Those accused of a crime should consult an experienced criminal defense attorney to mount a full defense.