America's justice system is based on equal rights for all. The prosecution does not hold all the cards when an individual is charged with a crime. Criminal defense attorneys use a variety of defenses to protect the rights of the accused. In defending criminal charges in California, the most important thing to know, says expert Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez, is that the prosecutor for the State of California must prove each and every element of the criminal offense. If the prosecutor fails to prove every element of his case against an individual, the defendant is judged innocent of the crime and goes free.
An astute criminal defense attorney has the knowledge and experience to effectively challenge the elements of the prosecutor's case. If the defense attorney can establish involuntary acts, mistake of fact, mistake of law, impossibility or abandonment/withdrawal, Rodriguez explains, he can effectively challenge the prosecutor's case. But even if the prosecutor is able to prove that the defendant committed a crime, the defendant's defense attorney can use an Affirmative Defense to challenge the conviction, says Rodriguez.
There are two affirmative defenses: Justification and Excuse.
Justification Defenses apply when the defendant's conduct is deemed justified under the circumstances. In other words, if the defendant acted properly in a threatening or dangerous situation, his actions are not judged to have broken the law. Justification defenses include: self defense, defense of others, defense of property, law enforcement defense and necessity. Law enforcement defense applies strictly to law enforcement officers and those acting on their behalf when force must be used to apprehend a criminal suspect.
The necessity defense is a "last-resort" defense, explains attorney Rodriguez, in which the criminal defense lawyer must prove that the defendant's actions meet four requirements: that the defendant faced a choice of evils, that there were no apparent legal alternatives to the action taken, that an immediate threat existed, and that the defendant chose the path of lesser harm. "And, of course," Rodriguez adds, "the defendant must not have caused the necessity."
Excuse Defenses can be used in California when the defendant makes a wrong choice because he is incapable of controlling his behavior, L.A. criminal defense attorney Rodriguez explains. Excuse defenses can include: duress, intoxication, diminished capacity, insanity, entrapment or infancy.
Well discuss excuse defenses in greater detail on Friday.
-Legal Pro
[...] attorney the opportunity to challenge the conviction using an Affirmative Defense based either on Justification (see our March 25 post) or [...]