Homework Question on Police Entrapment
- Identify, define, and explain the two principal tests of entrapment. Give examples of each.
- 1 source should be from Joel Samaha, Criminal Procedure, (8th ed. 2012)
Homework Answer on Police Entrapment
There are two tests to be administered in the process of entrapment. There are tests administered by most courts in individual states and those of the federal courts. These approaches are meant to propound the ends of justice. Entrapment has basically been developed over time through case laws rather than by statutory provisions.The subjective test is meant to assess the state of the mind of a person critically.
This test has been used mainly by federal and state courts. Basically, the test focuses on the mind of the person before a court of law, and who is accused of committing a crime. The onus is on the suspect to show state responsibility as a motivation to his commission of an offence. After this, the state then owns the burden of proof and must show in uncertain terms beyond reasonable doubt that the person committed the offence in the absence of any government agent. The judges rely heavily on this test to convict or release a criminal for lack of evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
The second test is the objective test. In this test, the individual actions or motivating factors are not considered. The test looks at the actions of the state more regarding the offence and subsequent occurrence. The court scrutinizes the actions of the police regarding the matter and its commission or omission. In the objective test, the burden of proof is entirely on the offender, rather than the state through the prosecution.