The Entrapment Defense And Drug Cases

Defendants in criminal cases sometimes base their defenses on the concept of illegal search and seizure, a practice forbidden by the Fourth Amendment.  In other words, they claim that they committed the crime, but the police had no right to catch them doing it.  For example, this defense applies if a defendant had illegal drugs in her house, but the police searched her house without a warrant.  Another possible defense involving police misconduct is entrapment.  In this defense, you argue that you committed the crime, but only because a police officer manipulated you into doing it.  Most instances of the entrapment defense involve undercover law enforcement agents pretending to collude with the defendant and then arresting him or her once there is enough evidence that the defendant’s actions meet the definition of the crime.  Drug-related arrests involving undercover officers are common, but instances where the entrapment defense will work are considerably fewer.  If you were arrested after discussing or engaging in a drug deal with an undercover cop, contact a West Palm Beach drug offenses lawyer.

It Is Entrapment If a Police Officer Tries to Coerce You Into Selling Drugs

The entrapment defense only applies if an officer coerces you or otherwise induces you to commit a crime that you would otherwise not have committed.  A police officer who commits entrapment not only makes it impossible for the charge against the defendant to apply, but also breaches his or her professional duties.  Entrapment is not merely giving a defendant an opportunity to commit a crime.  It is entrapment if an undercover officer pretending to be a drug dealer asks you to distribute drugs and, when you say no and insist that you only want one dose for yourself, offers you a share of the proceeds, threatens to rat you out to the police, or otherwise tries to pressure you into going through with the deal.

It’s Still Possession With Intent to Deliver If You Possess a Saleable Quantity of Drugs

Charges of possession with intent to deliver apply whether or not you distribute the drugs; you can be guilty simply because the drugs are in your possession.  Therefore, it is not entrapment if an undercover cop asks you to sell him some drugs and then, using your text message exchange with the cop as evidence, requests a warrant to search your house.  The large quantity of drugs, packaged for sale, would still be in your house, and there is still evidence that you were willing to sell them.  This is not a case of entrapment, because the officer did not pressure to sell; if the person texting you had been someone else you also didn’t know very well, you still would have made the sale.

Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 39 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0777/Sections/0777.201.html