In criminal law there is a near endless list of possible defense methods.
Most defenses, however, rest on very familiar foundations. Here are some of the most common.
Innocence
Innocence is by far the most common kind of criminal defense. Innocence is not a subjective position.
Many criminal defense lawyers advise against protesting innocence in cases where constructive work can be done reducing a sentence.
Insanity
Poor mental health is a factor in many criminal cases. In a select few cases, extremely poor mental health can lead a person to be legally incapable of being in control of their actions.
Insanity defenses are not used a great deal – despite what you may have seen in the movies.
A defendant needs to be diagnosed by a clinical professional and cross-examined by the prosecution before they can be considered beyond the responsibility of their actions.
Only some mental health conditions can contribute towards an insanity defense.
Self Defense
A great many violent crimes are committed in self-defense.
This is often a sticky subject in the court system.
Proof of self-defense is very hard to come by unless the prosecuting party was committing a crime in the moment of their victimhood.
Intoxication
Intoxication is often used by defense teams when trying to reduce the sentence of a client who committed criminal acts while under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
This kind of defense is only really used when a client has pleaded guilty to the crime they have been accused of.
The best defense lawyers, including the best criminal defense attorney in San Diego, can help to reduce a sentence even after a guilty plea has been made.
Duress
If a crime has been committed under duress, then there is likely to be a viable defense case. Duress is not usually considered to be a justification for committing a crime.
It can, however, be a factor in a lenient punishment.
In many respects, this legal strategy resembles self-defense – the defendant’s free will is considered to have been forced to a degree, which reduces their personal responsibility for their actions.
Duress is not considered to be an adequate defense for crimes that carry large sentences, such as murder.
In these cases, judges will often consider the justice given to victims over the free will of the defendant.
Mistake of Fact
A mistake of fact, so long as it is reasonable, is usually considered to be a viable defense in United States courts.
A mistake of fact has to be an understandable misunderstanding.
If, for instance, a contract has been written poorly and a person mistakes some of the terms leading to a criminal offense, this could be considered a mistake of fact.
If the victim of a crime was acting under a pseudonym when the crime was committed, this could feasibly lead to the success of a mistake of fact defense.
A mistake of fact defense is typically useless when a defense team claims that a client was ignorant of the law.