Defenses That Can Be Raised For A Burglary Offense
Have you been arrested and charged with the offense of burglary? If so, you may be looking into hiring an attorney to defend you against these charges. As you go about looking for an attorney, you may find yourself wondering what defenses a burglary offense law service can raise to help fight the charges you are facing. Here are a few common defenses that are used by criminal defense attorneys to fight burglary charges.
Innocence
The first defense that can be raised for a burglary offense is innocence. In some cases, you may flat out be innocent of the charges you are facing. In many of these cases, your attorney will seek to confirm an alibi for you. Maybe you were at work or maybe you were at home with your spouse. A criminal defense attorney will try to find witnesses who can corroborate your story about where you were and when to discredit the case that the state may have built against you.
Proving You Didn't Commit Burglary
Another common defense that can be used to fight burglary charges is arguing that what occurred was not a burglary. There are certain criteria that must be met in order for the crime to be classified as a burglary. You must have broken into the structure and have been unauthorized to gain entry. You also must have had the intent of breaking in and entering with the intent to commit a crime inside. As such, if you stole something but you were allowed in the building, that is not burglary. Likewise, if you broke into the building to sleep, but then found a stash of money that you stole, you didn't break in with the intent of committing a crime, and as such, it isn't burglary. In these cases, theft charges may be a better fit. And theft charges carry lesser penalties, so it may result in a better outcome for you.
Entrapment
The last defense used is the least common and hardest to prove. If a police officer entices you to break into a building, they may be entrapping you. They can't try to force you or entice you to commit a crime just so they can charge you with a crime. If an attorney can prove entrapment, the charges against you may be dismissed or you may be found not guilty.
If you have been charged with burglary, a criminal defense attorney may be able to help lessen the charges that you are facing or fight all of the charges that you are facing. Find an attorney, like Cheryl Brown Attorney at Law, who has a great track record for fighting and winning burglary offense cases to increase your chances of winning your case.