If you face a drug-related criminal charge, a conviction can affect your career, future and reputation. Drug crimes include possession, trafficking, distribution, prescription fraud and distribution.
While police officers and DEA agents can investigate a case and may use different undercover strategies to expose a crime, he or she cannot induce a crime.
What is the inducement of a crime?
Inducement determines whether an officer committed entrapment or not. For example, an officer may approach someone that he or she suspects sells drugs to purchase narcotics. If the person sells drugs to the officer, this is not entrapment. He or she did not induce the crime.
However, if an officer approaches to coerce you to commit a crime, this may be entrapment. Entrapment includes any act that blinds a person to his or her legal duties through sympathy or any other means. For example, if an officer asks you to sell prescription medication because his or her loved one is sick or dying and cannot legally obtain the medication, this could be entrapment.
What is an unwary innocent?
When determining whether the officer violated your rights, the court may determine if you are an unwary innocent or an unwary criminal. An unwary criminal waits for an opportunity. He or she would commit the crime with or without the officer. On the other hand, an unwary innocent may not think about committing the crime without coercion from the officer. The court may determine whether you have a predisposition to commit the crime.
The drugs typically included in a drug charge include cocaine, designer drugs, heroin, meth and prescription drugs.