Criminal Defense Case Analysis Paper

Criminal Defense Case Analysis Page 1

Tina Palacios

University of Phoenix

CJA343

Criminal Defense Case Analysis Page 2 I know when we think of the court room we think about how we see it on television although television does not give us the full details some shows come pretty close. When I watch court TV I can see the reality in the courtrrom and feel the pression of the witness on the stand or the defendant trying to defend himslfe against the lawyer that is grilling him. Through all the court mumbo jumbo there are rules and different ways a person can get off and go scott free and there are ways that they can got to prison for a lot of years
or for the rest of their life. In my discussuion of this paper a person will come to understand the various types of criminal defenses that are used in criminal trials. We may also examine the legal and medical perspectives on mental illness and insanity. There are two types of catagories in which criminal defenses can be identified and they are factual and legal.
Factual states “I did not do it” and most of the defendants will use this to avoid their punishment by saying they did not commit the crime in question. Legal defense states “I did do it… but”, this category consists of two small groups and they are justification and excuse. In this defense both catagories each have several small groups with n themselves. Justification is when a dendant believes he committed a crime to avoid less harm to themselves. The first group in the justification category is necessity defense and this is when a defendant claims they commited the crime to avoid a greater harm that could have be done to the defendant or a third party. Self defense is when the defendant shows the court that someone try to do harm to them whether it was very bad or could have resulted in death so therfore they had to use the same force for their protection. Defense of others is when an individual witnesses someone else being victimized to point where it could result in death. The defense of one’s home
and Criminal Defense Case Analysis Page 3 property is when a defendant is proetcting their home, their belongings and another individuals properties. When a person resist arrest they could be liable for not cooperating and this is called resisting unlawful arrest but when an officer does not make it known to a person that they are an officer of the law and that they have a warrant in hand then that person is not liable. Consent is the last group in the category of justification and this is when a person is hurt or killed during the time of a crime understood what was happening or going to happen. An excuse defense is when a person has personal circumstance that may have occurred during the tiem the crime tok place so therefore they feel they are not liable for what took place.
Durress is when a defendant is coerced or froced to commit a crime to protect themselves or a third party. There are two forms of intoxication and they are voluntary and involuntary intoxication. Voluntary intoxication is when aperson knowingly drinks and gets into a car and involuntary is when a person unknowingly consumes an illegal drug and it makes them helpless. The defense mistake is when a person misunderstands or forgets certain facts about that relate to a certain situation. The age defnse is when a child under the age of seven can not be liable for committing a crime because it is said that they can not commit an act of violence. In some states the age is seventeen when a they can be charged as an adult for committing a crime. The entrapment defense is when a person must prove that they were coerced by the police or some type of governemnt into commiting an illegal act that may have never happened. The last defense is syndrome based and this is aimed towrads battered women,
sexually

Criminal Defense Case Analysis Page 4 abused children, and black rage. This defense is a sydrome that is accepted as an excuse for why the defndant committed a crime or engaged in a criminal activity. Mental illnesses and insanity are other defenses that people may use to not be punished to the fullest extnt or just not at all. Mental illnesses are illnesses that people can develop as they are younger or as they become adults. A person who is insane is someone who fails to enjoy the liberty of action because of the unreliablity of his behavior. A person can be mentally ill or mentally abnormal but yet they could be sane, and vice versa. A person who commits a crime has to go through many tests if they want to plead insanity or a blame a mental illness on ther crime. A person who is menatlly retarted should get some slack but I still think if they have feelings then they know what they were doing when they committed their crime.