Many criminal defense strategies focus on raising a reasonable doubt. A defense attorney may attempt to convince a jury that there is another suspect or possibly that police officers contaminated crucial evidence, making it unreliable.
Occasionally, the evidence that the state has backing criminal charges is relatively strong. In such scenarios, defense attorneys might try using an affirmative defense strategy instead. An affirmative defense is not the same as a traditional defense. The defense team acknowledges that the defendant may have done something that could technically be a violation of the law. However, the crux of the matter becomes whether there were unusual circumstances that technically made that behavior legal.
What are common affirmative defenses?
Claims of self-defense are perhaps the most common type of affirmative defense. People have the right to defend themselves, other people and even their personal property from criminal activity. It is sometimes appropriate to use physical force in an attempt to thwart another person’s criminal intentions.
Another well-known affirmative defense strategy focuses on the mental state of the defendant. Claims of mental incapacity caused by long-term mental illness like schizophrenia might serve as an affirmative defense.
Defense teams sometimes even claim temporary insanity caused by unusual and extreme circumstances. Duress, involuntary intoxication and a variety of other circumstances may also provide grounds for an affirmative defense strategy.
How affirmative defenses work
Instead of convincing the courts to exclude certain evidence or consider a different suspect, the goal of an affirmative defense is to change the narrative around a criminal charge. By providing insight into the situation or the mindset of the defendant, a defense attorney can make it clear that there was not necessarily any intent to break the law.
The defense team usually needs to convince the courts that another reasonable person in the same situation would likely act in the same manner. Medical evidence, video footage of a prior altercation with the other party involved and a host of other types of evidence, such as threatening social media messages, can play a key role in an affirmative defense strategy.
Discussing everything that led up to criminal charges with a skilled legal team can help a defendant and the lawyer they hire choose the best strategy available. Affirmative defenses can potentially offer a path forward in scenarios where the state has compelling evidence of criminal conduct.