What are all of the criminal defenses for a defense lawyer?
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There are as many criminal defenses as there are ways to commit crimes.In Washington state we additionally have ,for some crimes,what is called an affirmative defense.These have pattern defenses,this system of defense,does have A drawback.The law and the pattern defense are on the state level,local court rules have been know to refine these down to nil,the constitutionality of this is still under review.I sorry I probably have not answered your question,so much as added more if you would like to e-mail me with more specifics,I would be glad to try to help.Laws and permissible defenses will vary from state to state except constitutional issues.I am in Washington state.
far too many to list, but basically, the premise is that the client is not guilty.
All of the possible defenses that can be raised? That's way too long a list, especially since if varies by state and jurisdiction.
But here are the most common ones, as tested on the bar exam:
Justifications are defenses that say "yes, I did it, but I had a good reason". This includes necessity (survival), duress (being forced), self-defense or defense of others, defense of property, etc.
Excuses are defenses that say "yes, I may have done that action, but I lacked a criminal intent". This includes insanity (unaware of what you were doing), intoxication (not thinking clearly), mistake (not realizing what you were doing), or entrapment (similar to duress, but where you wouldn't have done it on your own).
Some specific crimes also have specific affirmative defense. For example, a defene against larceny is if you thought the property was yours or that you had a legal right to take it, because that negates the intent to take property that belonged to someone else.
These are just a few of the many examples of defenses that have been either recognized by the courts, or allowed by statute.
All of the posters forgot the insanity defense or the not criminally responsible defense.
Most defenses go after the veracity of the police, prosecution, witnesses, etc. and try to discredit anyone that the prosecution offers as a witness.
Some defense attorneys canvas neighborhoods to find reluctant witnesses who were afraid to come forward for fear of intimidation from authorities.
All of them
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