Also known as: entrapment defense · entrapment · entrapment defence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A criminal defense that excuses liability when a law enforcement official or cooperating person induces the defendant to commit an offense by knowingly making false representations designed to induce the belief that the conduct is not prohibited or by employing methods of persuasion that create a substantial risk the offense will be committed by persons other than those ready to commit it. The defendant must prove the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. The defense is unavailable when the charged offense involves causing or threatening bodily injury to a person other than the one perpetrating the entrapment.
An undercover investigator approached Daniel Diaz, a cautious bank officer with no prior violations, and repeatedly urged him to structure deposits to evade reporting rules. The investigator falsely assured Diaz that the structuring was legal and offered large bonuses for compliance. After initial refusals, Diaz agreed and faced charges. The court found entrapment because the false representations and sustained pressure induced the offense.
Dominic Drake, a truck driver with a clean record, was repeatedly urged by an undercover dispatcher to divert electronics pallets for a side job. The dispatcher misrepresented the diversion as merely a contract issue rather than a crime. Drake eventually agreed and was arrested. The court accepted the entrapment defense after finding the misleading pressure created a substantial risk of inducing the offense in someone not ready to commit it.
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Damian Decker, a state procurement officer, was visited repeatedly by an undercover agent posing as a vendor who urged him to steer contracts for consulting fees. The agent falsely claimed the payments were legal lobbying routinely approved by ethics staff. Decker agreed and faced bribery charges. The court ruled the defense succeeded because the false legal assurances and pressure induced the conduct.
Deborah Dunn was charged after an undercover operation involving a confidential informant who supplied materials for the offense. Dunn sought to discover the informant's identity to support an entrapment claim. The court denied disclosure because the informant played only a minimal role and the defense could be evaluated without that information.
Darius Dixon raised entrapment after an informant arranged the transaction leading to his arrest. Dixon showed the informant's testimony was necessary to establish the nature and extent of government inducement. The court ordered disclosure of the informant's identity because the defense could not be fairly litigated without it.
Danielle Dixon was approached by agents who supplied contraband and applied extended pressure before she agreed to the offense. Evidence showed she had been ready to commit the crime before any government contact. The court rejected the entrapment defense because the government proved predisposition existed prior to the initial approach.
The defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the conduct occurred in response to entrapment. The issue is tried by the court without a jury.
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No. Mere provision of essential materials or contraband by a government agent does not amount to entrapment. The key inquiry remains the defendant's predisposition to commit the crime prior to government contact.
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Yes. Under the modern federal rule a defendant may assert the entrapment defense even while denying commission of the charged offense.
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The defense is unavailable when causing or threatening bodily injury is an element of the offense and the prosecution is based on conduct causing or threatening such injury to a person other than the one perpetrating the entrapment.
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…See L. Tiffany, D. McIntyre & D. Rotenberg, Detection of Crime: Stopping and Questioning, Search and Seizure, Encouragement and Entrapment 18-56 (1967). This sort of police conduct may, for example, be designed simply to help an intoxicated person find his way home, with no intention of arresting him unless he becomes…