What is a Criminal Defense?
So you’ve been charged with committing a crime, and you’ve just left speaking with your Indianapolis Criminal Defense Lawyer. In your meeting, hopefully your lawyer covered the various types of criminal defense arguments available to you.
A Criminal defense is a challenge made by the accused that argues the overall validity of the evidence presented by the prosecutor. The prosecutor is a party that has been tasked with proving whatever crime you’ve been charged with committing.
Affirmative Criminal Defense
A number of defense arguments made by someone charged with a crime are based upon the position that the evidence presented by the prosecution are invalid. There is, on the other hand, the type of defense that acknowledges the evidence presented by the prosecution is valid. This type of defense is called an affirmative defense. In today’s news, a number of medical marijuana criminal defense cases use an affirmative defense.
The Insanity Criminal Defense
Throughout history there are instances when a defendant in a criminal case makes the insanity criminal defense. An insanity criminal defense takes the position that you may have committed the alleged crime, however, due to some mental disease or defect you did not know it was wrong. A well known example of a criminal defense case where the insanity plea was used is the Ed Gein case.
Coercion and Duress Criminal Defense
In the types of criminal defense used, there is the type of defense called a coercion and duress defense. Someone using the coercion and duress defense argues that you are forced to commit a crime because you were threatened with some sort of unlawful force or action. Even the threat of unlawful force can be considered enough to satisfy the coercion and duress defense. A famous example of a successful coercion and duress defense is Dixon v. United States.
Abandonment and Withdrawal Criminal Defense
There are situations when a defendant in Indiana criminal defense cases where they make the abandonment and withdrawal criminal defense. A defendant using the abandonment and withdrawal defense argues that the defendant was going to commit a crime or act as an accomplice to a crime, but decided to abandon any involvement in the commission of a crime. The argument asserts a complete and voluntary withdrawal of the defendant’s criminal purpose in the commission of a crime.
Self-Defense as a Criminal Defense
The self-defense argument asserts that an action, one that would normally be considered as criminal, was necessary in order to defend oneself. An example of the self-defense argument made in Indiana would be the trial of the Indiana bounty hunter that killed two teens with a tomahawk. He claimed that he acted in self-defense after they pointed guns at him.
Other Criminal Defenses
In addition to the criminal defenses listed above, there are number of defenses that a defendant accused of committing a crime have available to use as a defense. Some of the other types of criminal defenses that have been used are the:
If you are charged with a crime, the defense that your criminal defense attorney will recommend depends entirely on the amount of evidence and the type of crime you are charged with. If you have been charged with a crime and need an attorney to help pick the best defense, contact Hayes Law Office at 317-982-6122 today!