Themis Essay 5484 Flashcards
Entrapment is the planning of an event by a law enforcement officer, and his procurement of its commission by
a defendant who would not have committed that offense except for the trickery, persuasion, or fraud of the officer.
Entrapment can occur through the use of
an undercover agent.
Entrapment will not bar a conviction when
the police merely afford an opportunity for the commission of a crime to a defendant willing to commit it.
A defendant may establish an accommodation defense if he
gave, distributed, or possessed a controlled substance only as an accommodation to another individual without an intent to profit, nor an intent to cause the recipient to become addicted to the controlled substance.
The accommodation defense does not absolve the defendant of
the crime, but can result in a lesser sentence.
Knowingly or intentionally possessing a prohibited object or substance is unlawful if
the defendant exercises control over such object or substance.
A defendant is not required to be aware that possession of an object is illegal in order to
be guilty of possession of a prohibited object or substance.
Dominion and control over a prohibited object must have existed for a period long enough to have provided the defendant with
an opportunity to cease such dominion and control.
A person commits common-law burglary if
he breaks and enters another’s dwelling in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony or larceny therein.
No destructive act is necessary to satisfy the breaking requirement of
common law burglary–opening an unlocked door will suffice.
Upon motion of the Commonwealth, the court may order multiple defendants charged with participation in contemporaneous and related acts or in a series of acts constituting an offense to be
tried jointly, unless a joint trial will prejudice the defendant.
If prejudice is present, the court may order the prejudiced defendent
severed from the joint trial.
