New Jersey Section 2C:2-12 – Entrapment

New Jersey Entrapment Law – Section 2C:2-12

Entrapment is a tricky legal defense that basically means the police tricked you into committing a crime you otherwise wouldn’t have. New Jersey’s entrapment law is found in Section 2C:2-12 of the criminal code.

The law says if the police use methods that create “a substantial risk that the offense would be committed by a person not otherwise disposed to commit it,” then that’s entrapment and you can’t be convicted of the crime. Makes sense right? The cops shouldn’t be allowed to talk you into doing illegal stuff just to arrest you.

But there’s a catch – if the police have “reasonable suspicion” that you’re already involved in criminal activity, then it’s not entrapment if they offer you the chance to commit a crime and you go for it. So entrapment is tricky to prove.

What the Law Actually Says

Okay, let’s look at what Section 2C:2-12 actually says. There’s two main parts we care about:

a. A public law enforcement official or a person engaged in cooperation with such an official or one acting as an agent of a public law enforcement official perpetrates an entrapment if for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of an offense, he induces or encourages and, as a direct result, causes another person to engage in conduct constituting such offense by either:

(1) Making knowingly false representations designed to induce the belief that such conduct is not prohibited; or

(2) Employing methods of persuasion or inducement which create a substantial risk that such an offense will be committed by persons other than those who are ready to commit it.

This part defines entrapment. The key is the police have to use lies or risky “persuasion or inducement” methods to get you to commit a crime you wouldn’t normally do.

b. Except as provided in subsection c. of this section, a person prosecuted for an offense shall be acquitted if he proves by a preponderance of evidence that his conduct occurred in response to an entrapment.

This part says if you can show it was entrapment by a “preponderance of evidence” (meaning it was more likely than not entrapment), you must be acquitted – found not guilty.

So in summary – if the police use shady tactics to push you into committing a crime you wouldn’t have otherwise done, that’s entrapment and you can’t be convicted for it. Seems fair enough.

What Counts as Entrapment?

But what exactly counts as “shady tactics” by the police? That’s where things get muddy. Here’s some examples that would likely be considered entrapment:

• An undercover cop lies and says something is legal when it’s not to convince you to do it.
• An informant pressures you for weeks to sell them drugs even though you have no history of dealing.
• A police officer promises you won’t get in trouble if you commit a crime to help them.

On the other hand, these examples probably wouldn’t be entrapment:

• An undercover cop asks to buy drugs from you one time, and you agree to sell.
• The police leave a car unlocked with valuables inside, and you decide to steal from it.
• You post online looking for child pornography, and an undercover cop responds and sends you illegal images.

See the difference? With entrapment, the police are pushing you to do something illegal you wouldn’t have done otherwise. Versus just presenting you with an opportunity to commit a crime. It’s a fine line.

The “Reasonable Suspicion” Exception

There’s an important exception to entrapment in New Jersey’s law under Section 2C:2-12(c). It says:

The defense afforded by this section is unavailable when causing or threatening bodily injury is an element of the offense charged and the prosecution is based on conduct causing or threatening such injury to a person other than the person perpetrating the entrapment.

This means entrapment doesn’t work as a defense if you hurt someone during the crime. Makes sense – the police tricking you into committing a crime doesn’t justify violence against others.

The other key exception is if the police had “reasonable suspicion” you were already involved in criminal activity. For example, if they have evidence you’ve committed drug crimes before, it’s not entrapment for an undercover cop to ask to buy drugs from you.

Proving Entrapment

To use the entrapment defense in New Jersey, you have to prove to the judge by a “preponderance of evidence” that it was entrapment. This is a lower standard than “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

You’ll need to show evidence like:

• Records of the police pressuring, inducing, or lying to you
• Testimony that you had no prior criminal history
• Proof the crime was “out of character” for you

If the judge agrees it was likely entrapment, you’ll be acquitted. But it’s not an easy defense to prove, especially if the police say they had reason to suspect you beforehand.

Famous NJ Entrapment Cases

There’s been some high-profile entrapment cases in New Jersey over the years. Like in State v. Johnson, where a guy named Johnson claimed entrapment after an undercover cop kept asking him to get heroin until he finally agreed. The court said it wasn’t entrapment though because Johnson seemed willing to deal the drugs.

Another famous case is State v. Rockholt. This guy Rockholt kept refusing when an undercover cop asked him to get meth ingredients. But eventually he agreed after weeks of badgering. The appeals court ruled it was entrapment because the repeated pressure wore Rockholt down.

So the takeaway is – entrapment turns mainly on how hard the police pushed you into committing a crime versus just presenting the opportunity. The more they pressured or induced you, the better chance you can claim entrapment. But it’s not easy to prove.

Should Entrapment Be a Defense?

There’s a lot of debate around whether entrapment should even be allowed as a defense. Some people argue the police should be able to use deceptive tactics to catch criminals. As long as you willingly broke the law, it shouldn’t matter how the cops tricked you into it.

But others see entrapment as an abuse of power. The police shouldn’t be able to randomly target people and manipulate them into committing crimes just to pump up their arrest stats. It’s not a fair way to enforce the law.

There’s good arguments on both sides. Maybe the best solution is to only allow more aggressive police tactics when targeting violent crimes or repeat offenders. But for low-level stuff like drug possession, deception by the police seems ethically sketchy.

In the end, the entrapment defense is meant to balance effective law enforcement against the abuse of police power. But there’s always room for improvement in how we apply the law.