Being charged with a drug crime can be overwhelming, especially if you face a federal charge. If you feel as though an officer pushed you to commit a crime, you may be able to introduce a defense of entrapment.
Before you can claim entrapment, you need to understand what constitutes entrapment.
Elements of entrapment
First, government agents cannot put the idea of committing a crime into your head. The idea must originate with the person charged with the crime. If you had no predisposition to commit a crime, you may be able to claim entrapment. Remember that entrapment does not include a lie from government agents or police officers. Law enforcement officials can lie to catch people committing a crime. However, they cannot coerce a person into committing the crime.
Entrapment and drug charges
When it comes to drug charges, an officer may attempt to make you sell or purchase drugs for him or her. It is not entrapment if you already planned to commit the crime or were waiting for an opportunity. Entrapment occurs when an officer takes an unwary innocent and gives him or her a reason to commit a crime that may sway any reasonable person into committing it. For instance, an officer may claim that a family member requires prescription medication but cannot afford it, and you may offer it out of kindness. On the other hand, officers may ask you to purchase illicit substances, claiming someone threatened them if they do not sell them.
An officer guilty of entrapment will find ways to blind a law-abiding citizen to his or her legal duties.