New Jersey Entrapment Defense

New Jersey Entrapment Defense is an affirmative defense, meaning that defendant bears the burden of proof by preponderance of the evidence.

There is no entrapment if the inducement comes from a private person without official connection.

In addition to proving the official connection, it must be proved that the perpetrator of the entrapment had the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of an offense when he induced or encouraged another person to engage in the conduct constituting the offense.

In addition, it must be proved that the offense was caused as a direct result of the perpetrator either making knowingly false representations designed to induce the belief that the conduct is not prohibited or the perpetrator employs methods of persuasion or inducement which create a substantial risk that such offense will be committed by persons other than those who are ready to commit it.

With this second alternative which is the most common form of this defense, it is only available to persons who lack a criminal disposition.

In order to succeed with a New Jersey entrapment defense, the defendant must prove that the police conduct constituted an inducement to crime by objective standards.

The conduct of the police by its nature created a substantial risk that the crime would be committed by an average person who was not otherwise ready to commit it.

This requirement is not satisfied if the evidence demonstrates that the defendant was unusually susceptible to the inducement and that an ordinary citizen would not have succumbed to the type of inducement to which the defendant succumbed.

Second, the defendant must prove that the police conduct in fact caused him to commit the crime.

The defendant would not satisfy this requirement if the proofs demonstrated that the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime.

A defendant’s predisposition must be prior to the defendant being approached by the police.

The police should ordinarily have reasonable suspicion that the targeted defendant would be likely to engage in the commission of the crime contemplated.

A reasonable suspicion may arise even if there is not hard evidence.

To rebut an allegation of New Jersey entrapment defense, the state may introduce evidence of prior crimes similar to the current charge to prove a predisposition to commit the crime charged.

Do you wish to discuss a possible New Jersey Entrapment Defense, with a New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer?