Rather, it could have been used against or threatened against another individual, such as a family member. The force or threat of force does not have to be threatened against the individual accused of the crime. Merely the threat of unlawful force can be enough to satisfy the coercion defense. This unlawful force does not have to actually occur. Coercion and DuressĬoercion and duress is an affirmative criminal defense that basically says you were forced to commit a crime because you were threatened with unlawful force. Before using this criminal defense, consult with your criminal lawyer. This means that if the jury rejects your insanity defense, it will likely find you guilty. By using it, you are admitting that you committed a crime. Relying on the insanity defense can be risky. You and your attorney must present clear and convincing evidence that you have such a mental disease or defect and that this disease or defect resulted in your not understanding that your actions were wrong. To successfully use the insanity defense, you must have had a severe mental disease or defect at the time the crime was committed. This defense states that you committed the alleged crime but had did not know that what you did was wrong. Made popular by television shows and movies, the insanity defense is not actually used frequently nor is it often successful. The type of defense that you and your attorney choose to pursue will depend, in part, on the crime you are accused of committing, as well as the evidence available to you. In this example, the alibi is the defense.
An alibi witness is someone who testifies that you could not have committed the alleged crime. You and your attorney may choose to produce an alibi witness. First-degree murder is when you plan the murder beforehand. These defenses are often referred to as affirmative defenses.Īffirmative defenses require that the defendant, along with his or her criminal attorney, produce evidence in support of the defense.įor example, say you have been charged with first-degree murder. However, there are a number of types of defenses that accept some of the prosecutions evidence as true. Some criminal defenses attempt to strike down the prosecutions evidence by showing that it is false. The prosecution is the party trying to prove the criminal charges against you. As the defendant, you and your criminal attorney will likely want to establish some sort of criminal defense to prevent a guilty verdict.Ī criminal defense is a strategic argument that attempts to challenge the validity and sufficiency of the prosecutions evidence. The accused in this situation is known as the defendant. If you have been accused of a crime, you will have to appear in court.
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