Criminal defense is the practice of representing individuals who have been charged with criminal offenses. The criminal justice system provides a number of different defenses to those who are accused of crimes. It is important to understand the various types of defenses in criminal law that are available.
How Many Types of Criminal Defenses Are There?
There are several types of criminal defenses available in law, including but not limited to: innocence, alibi, self-defense, insanity, duress, entrapment, statute of limitations and constitutional rights.
Just as there are many types of criminal defenses, there are many types of criminal defense lawyers. Making sure a client has the right criminal lawyer for their defense is essential and should be one of the first discussions they have with their attorney, be they a private attorney or a public defender.
1. Innocence Defense
The innocence defense is one of the most common types of criminal defenses. It is used when the accused denies that they committed the crime. The defense team will attempt to prove that the defendant was not at the scene of the crime at the time it was committed or that there is no evidence to support the allegations against them.
2. Alibi Defense
An alibi defense is similar to the innocence defense in that the accused denies that they committed the crime. However, in an alibi defense, the defendant provides evidence that they were somewhere else at the time the crime was committed. This can include witnesses who can testify to the defendant's whereabouts or video evidence that shows the defendant in a different location at the time of the crime.
3. Self-Defense
Self-defense is a common defense for crimes involving assault or homicide. This defense asserts that the defendant acted in self-defense and only used force to protect themselves from harm. Self-defense can only be used if the defendant reasonably believed that they were in imminent danger of harm and that using force was necessary to protect themselves.*
*This is a sample of the article "8 Different Types of Criminal Defenses in Law" by Best Lawyers. Read the article here.
