Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Grounds for Entrapment???

Local P.D. conduct a probation search at my residence on 06/02. Afterwards, one of the officers engages in conversation with me and explains her new partner needs some training & experience in identifying''11550's''. She proceeds to tell me she & her new partner plan on coming by the following morning. She then explains (and gives her word) that if any of my friends or myself are U.I., as long as were honest about it, no arrests would be made.

The following morning, a friend & I get high & await their arrival which never happens. The following evening I'm pulled over by undercover officers in an unmarked car just a block away from my house. As a result, I am arrested & charged with H.S.11550 as well as D.U.I. Any officer knows a controlled substance stays in the system for 72 hrs, so therefor the so called ''11-5'' training that was supposed to take place but didn't seemed awfully convenient. Two different officers had to conduct their field testing 3 times before taking me to jail. Furthermore, my formal probation is for 496 (f), not anything pertaining to drugs. What motions,if any,should my Public Defender be filing? Any suggestions of what I can do to ensure thorough defense ? Unfortunately, cant afford private. Thanks


Asked on 6/06/08, 12:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Grounds for Entrapment???

I don't believe you were entrapped, but others may disagree.

Entrapment occurs when the police pressure a suspect into committing a crime she would have been unwilling to commit but for the pressure. Your post does not suggest that there was any pressure at all. At most you were promised that you wouldn't be arrested at a particular time if you were under the influence. That's not pressure; it's an incentive. You obviously were perfectly willing to commit the crime.

Note also that the officer did not say you could drive while under the influence. A promise not to arrest you for a particular crime in your home on a particular morning does not mean you can go out that night and commit a different crime elsewhere.

I should also point out that the officer did not break her promise. She said you wouldn't be arrested or charged if you were under the influence in your house that morning. You were under the influence in your house that morning, and you were neither arrested nor charged for it. The officer did not promise that you would not be arrested later in another place, which is what happened.

You may be able to make an equitable argument that the police should not expressly encourage you to commit a crime this way and then arrest you for doing so. Lawyers call this type of claim equitable estoppel. I would be sympathetic to that argument if I were a judge, though I don't know whether I would rule in your favor.

As for "ensuring" a thorough defense, you have few options. You will need a public defender, and they do not have enough time to be as thorough as private counsel might be. Given the unusual facts of your case you might be able to get a pro bono lawyer to make the equitable estoppel argument; you may want to call your local ACLU to see if they are interested.

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Answered on 6/06/08, 4:22 pm


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