Understanding the Four Types of Criminal Law Defenses

There are four types of recognized criminal law defenses:

Alibi. A Latin word that means “in another place.” The defendant could not have committed the crime because he or she was elsewhere during the crime commission.

Justification. The defendant admits to the act but claims that it was necessary to avoid a greater evil. Examples include self-defense, defense of others, and defense of property, consent, necessity, and resisting unlawful arrest.

Excuse. Some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that the actor should not be held accountable under the criminal law. Examples include duress, age, mistake, provocation, unconsciousness, insanity, involuntary drunkenness, diminished capacity, and mental incompetence. 

Procedural Defense. In some significant ways, the defendant was discriminated against in the justice process. Or some critical aspects of the official procedure were not correctly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged. Examples include entrapment, double jeopardy, collateral estoppel, prosecutorial misconduct, denial of a speedy trial, police fraud, and selective prosecution.

Recommended Reading

• American Criminal Courts: Legal Process and Social Context
• Trial Practice Manual for Criminal Defense Lawyers: A Field Guide to Courtroom Combat
• A Cup Of Coffee With 10 Of The Top Criminal Defense Attorneys In The United States: Valuable insights you should know if you are accused of a crime
• The Best Defense: The Courtroom Confrontations of America’s Most Outspoken Lawyer of Last Resort— the Lawyer Who Won the Claus von Bulow Appeal

Last updated: May 27, 2024

About the author

Fahad Hizam alHarbi

Private investigator and criminal-justice researcher based between Mexico City and Oaxaca. He works on financial crime, due diligence, and asset tracing, and writes on policing, organized crime, corrections, and the law in three languages. More about Fahad →