Understanding Entrapment Defenses for Miami White Collar Crimes

Understanding Entrapment Defenses for Miami White Collar Crimes

Being charged with a white collar crime in Miami can be a scary and overwhelming experience. Many people feel confused about how they ended up in legal trouble when they were encouraged or persuaded to commit the crime by someone else, like an undercover police officer or confidential informant. This situation is called “entrapment” and it is a valid legal defense in Florida.

This article will explain what entrapment is, how it applies to white collar crimes in Miami, and how an experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you understand and assert this defense. We’ll also look at some examples of entrapment versus legitimate undercover operations.

What is Entrapment?

Entrapment occurs when law enforcement unfairly induces or encourages someone to commit a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed on their own. As defined under Florida law, entrapment happens when:

• A police officer, informant, or someone working with law enforcement persuades or encourages criminal conduct through pleas, promises, threats, or exploiting vulnerabilities.
• This inducement creates a substantial risk of causing an otherwise law-abiding person to commit a crime.
• The person would not have been ready or willing to commit the crime if not for the persuasion and encouragement from police.

Simply giving someone an opportunity to commit a crime does not qualify as entrapment. There has to be active encouragement that pushes an unwilling person across the line into criminal action.

Two Types of Entrapment

Florida recognizes two different tests for analyzing and proving entrapment^[1]:

1. Subjective Entrapment

This examines the defendant’s state of mind and predisposition to commit the crime before police got involved. Key questions include:

• Did the defendant already have the intent to commit this type of crime?
• Or were they an upstanding citizen with no prior offenses?
• How much did they resist or refuse before acquiescing to the criminal act?
• What methods did police use to persuade them?

If the defendant lacked criminal intent until persuaded by overzealous police conduct, this can show subjective entrapment.

2. Objective or Due Process Entrapment

This focuses solely on the appropriateness of law enforcement conduct and methods used to induce the crime. The key questions are:

• Did police have reasonable suspicion that this person was already involved in ongoing criminal activity?
• Or did they target an innocent person just to manufacture a crime?
• Were the police methods in line with ethical standards? Or did they employ threats, harassment, exploitation, or other misconduct?

Objective entrapment hinges on improper police behavior, not the defendant’s criminal history.

Raising an Entrapment Defense in Court

In Miami white collar crime cases, an experienced criminal defense lawyer can pursue an entrapment defense using the following strategies^[1]:

• File a pretrial motion to dismiss detailing misconduct that violated due process principles.
• Raise the defense through motions for judgment of acquittal during trial.
• Request jury instructions on entrapment if any supporting evidence is presented.
• Have the defendant testify about how they were unfairly induced.
• Present recordings, emails, informants, or officers showing questionable police conduct.
• Use cross-examination to expose contradictions or holes in the prosecution’s account.
• Argue there is reasonable doubt police engaged in entrapment.

Examples of Entrapment vs. Legitimate Undercover Operations

It can be tricky to distinguish improper entrapment from legitimate undercover investigation. Here are some examples in a Miami white collar context:

Potential Entrapment

• An undercover officer contacts someone out of the blue asking to launder money through their business, making lavish promises of big profits.
• Police leave a bag with cameras unattended in a public place, arrest individuals who steal it, then charge them with grand theft.
• An informant pressures a previously law-abiding person for months to help embezzle funds, exploiting their financial difficulties.

Legitimate Undercover Investigation

• An undercover officer poses as a hitman to gather evidence against someone already planning a murder-for-hire.
• Police respond to an ad offering an illegal investment scheme, then arrange a meeting to catch the perpetrators.
• An informant provides information to police about an ongoing identity theft ring in order to get leniency for their own charges.

The key is looking at the origin of criminal intent and whether police used fair persuasion or exploitation to push someone over the line. This is where an experienced Miami criminal defense lawyer can help build an entrapment case.

Consulting a Lawyer if Facing Entrapment

Have you been accused of a white collar crime in Miami that you feel pressured or unfairly induced into committing? Don’t go it alone against the power of the justice system. Consult with a skilled criminal defense attorney right away to understand your options and start building an entrapment defense strategy^[5].

An attorney can obtain the evidence needed to show you were entrapped, file motions highlighting misconduct, and aggressively confront witnesses on the stand. With an experienced lawyer in your corner, you can show there is reasonable doubt you would have committed this crime without police persuasion and exploitation. Don’t wait to get help asserting your rights.

References:

[1] https://www.miami-criminal-lawyer.net/blog/the-entrapment-defense-in-florida-criminal-cases

[2] https://www.muscalaw.com/the-entrapment-legal-defense-strategy-in-florida-criminal-defense-cases

[3] https://www.miamicriminaldefenselaw.com/white-collar-crimes.html

[4] https://strolenylaw.com/miami-criminal-defense-attorney-explains-entrapment-florida-drug-cases/

[5] https://criminaldefenseattorneytampa.com/legal-defenses/entrapment/