Under Cover Agents and Criminal Informants Flashcards
What is a Undercover Agent (UC)
An undercover agent is a LE officer who disguise their identity to gain the trust of an individual or organization to gather evidence.
What is a criminal informant? (CI)
A private party who works for the Government to gather information about criminal acts
Are CIs government actors for the purposes of 4th amendment analysis?
Yes.
1.) Government has knowledge of intrusive conduct and acquiesced
2.) The private actor is either acting to further the goals of the government, or further their own goals; and
3.) The government requested their assistance
Do statements given to undercover actors trigger fourth amendment protections?
No. The fourth amendment does not protect an individual’s misplaced trust in an individual to not report their wrongdoing. No reasonable expectation of privacy.
What is the entrapment defense?
Total defense for a crime, meaning the defendant is relieved of all liability, if they can show that the their behavior was induced by law enforcement.
Are fourth amendment protections triggered where the undercover agent RECORDS their interaction?
No. Recording does is not considered a further violation of privacy.
Are fourth amendment protection triggered where the suspect speaks in another language?
No. No reasonable expectation of privacy in a multilingual society.
If invited into a home, do CIs/UCs have reign to search wherever?
No. UCs/CIs are limited to the scope of the invitation/consent
What are the two approaches for the entrapment defense?
1.) Subjective test (two prongs)
2.) objective test (one prong)
What is the subjective test for Entrapment?
1.) Did the government induce the behavior? (some sort of persuasion or mild coercion, mere offer not enough)
2.) Was the defendant predisposed to the criminal act?
(if predisposed defeats entrapment claim)
How do you show predisposition to criminal activity?
Show prior criminal activity, knowledge and familiarity with criminal techniques (language, tools (posession or knowledge of use)
Does the entrapment defense apply where the defendant has a predisposition towards the criminal activity, but the police did induce them with coercive behavior?
No. Predisposition is always fatal to an entrapment defense claim
What is the objective test for entrapment?
Whether the police induced defendant into criminal activity through methods which are so unfair as to be offensive to universal sense of justice
Ex: intimidation of any kind
ex: offering well above market value when LE knows that defendant is financially in need
ex: using best friend of defendant to emotionally manipulate them
ex: playing on the sympathies of the defendant by pretending to have withdraw symptoms
