What is entrapment?

Entrapment acts as a defense to criminal charges. A typical entrapment scenario arises when police officers use coercion and other overbearing tactics to induce someone to commit crime. Read on to learn more about entrapment, including case examples and standards used to evaluate an entrapment claim. (For in-depth discussion of other common defense strategies, check out Nolo's article Defenses to Criminal Charges.)

Is bad advice from a lawyer a defense to criminal charges?

In general, ignorance of the law isn’t a viable defense to criminal charges, even if it r

What does 'tolling' the statute of limitations mean?

What does it mean to "toll the statute of limitations" in a criminal case?

Is involuntary intoxication a defense?

Being drunk or high usually isn’t a defense to criminal charges (see  Being Drunk: A Defense to Criminal

Is a confession alone enough to convict a defendant?

A general criminal law principle known as the corpus delicti rule provides that a confession, standing alone, isn’t enough for a conviction. With its design of preventing wrongful convictions, th

Are religious beliefs a defense to criminal charges?

People’s sincere religious beliefs may occasionally conflict with the law. Usually, it’s the religious beliefs that must yield, as the law rarely accepts them as a defense to criminal charges. If a government has decided that certain activity is illegal, then it’s usually no excuse to say, “I