Jacob Glass

Alfred T. Ingham
CJ 101 – 07
September 18, 2017
Affirmative Defense: What It Means and Some Examples
The use of an alibi, consent and immunity are just a few of the many types of criminal

defenses. They range from “perfect defenses”, which are defined by Fagin as “when a person is

excused from all criminal liability and punishment”, to “imperfect defenses” which states that

“the person’s liability or punishment is reduced”. One of the more interesting and complex

defenses though is the affirmative defense. It is defined in CJ2015 as “a defense in which the

defendant admits that he or she committed the actus reus (action) of the crime but claims that he

or she not be found guilty of the crime because his or her actions were justified or he or she had

an excuse”.

One example of affirmative defense is “entrapment”, or “the allegation that police

officers acquired evidence necessary to commence a criminal prosecution of the defendant by

inducing the defendant to engage in a criminal act which the defendant would not otherwise have

committed” (defined by the Cornell Law School). Drug sting operations, prostitute sting

operations and bait cars are all controversial topics pertaining to entrapment. Another example of

affirmative defense is “self-defense”. Self-defense deals with the action of defending oneself

against an attacker, be it by killing or assaulting the aggressor. With this type of defense there

must be no criminal intent and must solely be to protect you or someone else. A third example of

affirmative defense, much like self-defense, is “necessity”. Often referred to as the “lesser of two

evils”, necessity is the “defense in which the defendant must admit that he or she committed the

act but claims that it was done because of necessity or need and not because of mens rea (guilty
thinking)” (Fagin). When utilizing this defense, the actus reas must be an acceptable reason for

carrying out the “crime”, such as a life-threatening circumstance.

Affirmative defense if very versatile and can correlate to many important types of

defenses. Be it self-defense, necessity or entrapment, affirmative defense is key when defending

a person who is arguably innocent in a criminal case.