entrapment
An affirmative defense in which a defendant alleges that a law enforcement agent or agent of the state acquired the evidence necessary to commence prosecution of the defendant by inducing the defendant to engage in a criminal act that the defendant would not otherwise have committed. see, e.g. Jacobson v. United States, 503 U.S. 540 (1992) . Each state has its own case law and statute that outlines when and how the entrapment defense is applicable, and a subjective test for claims of entrapment may be applied, which includes two elements:
- The defendant's lack of proclivity to conduct in crime
- The government's inducement of the crime
[Last reviewed in October of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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