法律英语：21 Entrapment

by Michael W. Flynn
 
First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

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Today I discuss entrapment³. Derek from Minnesota wrote:

I've been listening to your podcast for a while and I don't believe you've covered the issue of "entrapment." Recently, a Minnesota woman was acquitted⁴ by reason of entrapment. As I understand it, entrapment is difficult to demonstrate. In this case, the defendant⁵ was a court victim advocate who sold confidential⁶ victim information to a third party for $180.

Derek, you are correct in your understanding that entrapment is difficult to prove because the defendant must show that he committed the crime due to government pressure, and had no predisposition to commit a crime.

Entrapment is the act of a law enforcement agent in inducing a person to commit an offence, which the person would not have, or was unlikely to have, otherwise committed. The Supreme⁷ Court has described this as “the line between setting a trap for the ‘unwary innocent’ and the ‘unwary criminal.’” First, the defendant must show that the government induced him to commit the crime, and then the government must show that the defendant was predisposed to committing the crime.

Law enforcement often uses sting operations (or “artifice and stratagem” as the Supremes call it) to catch criminals. Imagine the following: an undercover cop calls Mr. X, a known drug dealer⁸ in town, and arranges to go to his house and buy some pot. After the undercover cop buys the pot, he can arrest Mr. X. At trial, Mr. X might raise the defense⁹ of entrapment, which puts the burden on the government to show that Mr. X was disposed to commit the crime before the government, i.e. the undercover cop, intervened. In this situation, proving that would be pretty easy because Mr. X had sold drugs before, he had already acquired the drugs before he sold them to the undercover cop, and there would likely be strong evidence of a selling operation in the form of scales, jars, cash, etc. Also, the fact that Mr. X immediately complied with the request to sell is strong evidence that he must have been predisposed to committing the crime.

But contrast that with another story. Imagine that an undercover cop is crying outside a California pot club. Mr. Y asks the cop what is wrong, the cop tells Mr. Y that the pot club will not sell to him, and he needs the pot for his ailing¹⁰ mother who has cancer, and would Mr. Y please please please go in and buy the pot for him. After much cajoling, Mr. Y enters, buys a small amount of pot without a prescription¹¹, and then the undercover cop arrests him for buying pot without a prescription. The cops then search Mr. Y’s house, and find no drugs or drug paraphernalia¹², Mr. Y tests negative for pot in his system, and has a reputation in the community for being a straight-laced guy. In that situation, the government induced the crime, so Mr. Y can raise the entrapment defense. Mr. Y can persuasively¹³ argue that the government failed to show that he was predisposed to committing the crime because he was not seeking out pot, he had not expressed an interest in the pot, and the government used emotional pressure to induce the crime.

Looking at Derek’s example from Minnesota, entrapment seems valid¹⁴. In the Minnesota case, an officer contacted the defendant who was an advocate for victims of violent crimes. The defendant handed over confidential witness and victim information only after the officer told the defendant that he was investigating real estate fraud. Initially¹⁵, the defendant refused, but the undercover officer intentionally¹⁶ played on the defendant’s religious beliefs and questioned whether the defendant was a true friend and truly wanted to help. The defendant turned over the confidential records and was arrested.

The jury acquitted on the felony counts of bribery¹⁷ and aiding an offender¹⁸. The jury heard arguments that the defendant was not predisposed to turning over confidential information, and only did so after the officer played on her emotional side, and convinced the defendant that turning over the information was helpful to society. This seems to fall squarely into entrapment. The defendant was not predisposed to turning over the information: she never had done so before, she only did so to help a supposed friend, and she did so after her religious convictions were called into question.

Overall, entrapment is rarely successful because it truly does require the “unwary innocent,” a true rarity. Most sting operations target people for whom the government already has some evidence of commission of a crime, so proving predisposition is easy.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹⁹ Life. Be sure to take the short listener survey by clicking on the green 5 to the right of the transcript²⁰.

You can send questions and comments to........or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 entrapment   

n.（非法）诱捕，诱人犯罪；诱使犯罪

参考例句：

• The most common structural targets associated with oil entrapment are anticlines and faults. 与储油圈闭有关的最一般的构造目标是背斜和断层。 来自辞典例句
• The purely mechanical effect of glandular trichome exudates is the entrapment and immobilization of small arthropods. 具腺毛状体分泌物的纯机械作用是诱捕和粘住小的昆虫。 来自辞典例句

4 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

5 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

6 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

11 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

12 paraphernalia   

n.装备；随身用品

参考例句：

• Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗？
• All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。

13 persuasively   

adv.口才好地；令人信服地

参考例句：

• Students find that all historians argue reasonably and persuasively. 学生们发现所有的历史学家都争论得有条有理，并且很有说服力。 来自辞典例句
• He spoke a very persuasively but I smelled a rat and refused his offer. 他说得头头是道，但我觉得有些可疑，于是拒绝了他的建议。 来自辞典例句

14 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

15 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

16 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

17 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

18 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

19 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

20 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。