In America, an individual charged with a criminal act is entitled to be represented by a criminal defense attorney who can protect his legal rights and see that he receives a fair hearing or trial. In California, it is up to the prosecutor to prove every aspect of his case against a defendant. If an individual's criminal defense lawyer can show that the state has failed to prove every element of its case, the defendant is judged innocent of the crime and goes free.
Even when the prosecutor is able to prove his case, the California justice system allows the defendant's attorney the opportunity to challenge the conviction using an Affirmative Defense based either on Justification (see our March 25 post) or Excuse.
Excuse Defenses apply when the defendant makes a wrong choice because he is incapable of controlling his behavior, explains expert Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. There are a number of excuse defenses available to a defendant's attorney:
- Duress can be used as a defense if the defendant committed the crime because of force or threats from another person. If the defendant acted out of fear for his life or fear that he would be seriously harmed, as long as the defendant did not recklessly place himself in such a position, duress can be used as a defense.
- Intoxication can be used to defend against crimes committed while the defendant was intoxicated that the individual would not have committed if sober.
- Diminished Capacity, while controversial and often difficult to prove, can be used as a defense when there is evidence that the defendant did not have the mental capacity to commit the crime.
- Insanity provides complete defense against a criminal charge but is only available if the defendant's mental disorder prevented him from knowing his actions were wrong.
- Entrapment can be used as a defense if the defendant was unfairly lured by law enforcement officers into committing a crime he would not otherwise have committed.
- Infancy excuses the acts of children under the age of 7 because they are too young to be criminally responsible for their actions. Infancy can be used as a defense up to age 14 in California, but the prosecutor has the right to argue against use of the infancy defense for children age 7 to 14.
