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vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">Beginning</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Civil_law_defenses" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Civil_law_defenses"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Civil law defenses</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Civil_law_defenses-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Criminal_defenses" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Criminal_defenses"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Criminal defenses</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Criminal_defenses-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Related_pages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Related_pages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Related pages</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Related_pages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> 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Available in 8 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-8" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">8 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9_(%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86)" title="الدفاع (قانون) – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="الدفاع (قانون)" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensa_(dret)" title="Defensa (dret) – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Defensa (dret)" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence" title="Defence – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Defence" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-en mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_(legal)" title="Defense (legal) – English" lang="en" hreflang="en" data-title="Defense (legal)" data-language-autonym="English" data-language-local-name="English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensa_(derecho)" title="Defensa (derecho) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Defensa (derecho)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravna_obrana" title="Pravna obrana – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Pravna obrana" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eccezione_(diritto)" title="Eccezione (diritto) – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Eccezione (diritto)" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh 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data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Eo-scale2.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Eo-scale2.png/200px-Eo-scale2.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Eo-scale2.png 1.5x" data-file-width="252" data-file-height="216" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Civil_law" title="Civil law">civil proceedings</a> and <a href="/wiki/Criminal_law" title="Criminal law">criminal prosecutions</a> under the <a href="/wiki/Common_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Common law">common law</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Defendant" title="Defendant">defendant</a> may raise a <b>defense</b> (or <b>defence</b>) in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil <a href="/wiki/Legal_liability" title="Legal liability">liability</a>. It is an answer, made by a <a href="/wiki/Defendant" title="Defendant">defendant</a> to a <a href="/wiki/Plaintiff" title="Plaintiff">plaintiff</a>'s action or a denial of a <a href="/wiki/Prosecutor" title="Prosecutor">prosecutor</a>'s charges.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is also an answer in <a href="/wiki/Equity_(law)" title="Equity (law)">equity</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Civil_law_defenses">Civil law defenses</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&veaction=edit&section=1" title="Change section: Civil law defenses" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>change</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section's source code: Civil law defenses"><span>change source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Under <a href="/wiki/Common_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Common law">common law</a>, a defendant may raise any of the numerous defenses to limit or avoid liability. These include: </p> <ul><li>Lack of <a href="/wiki/Jurisdiction" title="Jurisdiction">jurisdiction</a> of the court, such as <a href="/wiki/Diplomatic_immunity" title="Diplomatic immunity">diplomatic immunity</a>.</li> <li>Failure to state a <a href="/wiki/Cause_of_action" title="Cause of action">cause of action</a> or other insufficiencies of <a href="/wiki/Pleading" title="Pleading">pleading</a>.</li> <li>Any of the <a href="/wiki/Affirmative_defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Affirmative defense">affirmative defenses</a>.</li> <li>Defenses conferred by statute - such as a <a href="/wiki/Statute_of_limitations" title="Statute of limitations">statute of limitations</a> or the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Statute_of_frauds&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Statute of frauds (not yet started)">statute of frauds</a>.</li> <li><i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ex_turpi_causa_non_oritur_actio&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ex turpi causa non oritur actio (not yet started)">Ex turpi causa non oritur actio</a></i> - the action against the defendant arises from an illegality.</li> <li><i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Volenti_non_fit_injuria&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Volenti non fit injuria (not yet started)">Volenti non fit injuria</a></i> - <a href="/wiki/Consent" title="Consent">consent</a> by the victim or plaintiff.</li> <li><i><a href="/w/index.php?title=In_pari_delicto&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="In pari delicto (not yet started)">In pari delicto</a></i> - both sides equally at fault</li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Unclean_hands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Unclean hands (not yet started)">Unclean hands</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Criminal_defenses">Criminal defenses</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&veaction=edit&section=2" title="Change section: Criminal defenses" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>change</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section's source code: Criminal defenses"><span>change source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a criminal trial, there are a wide variety of defenses offered. Some of these include:<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li>You could also get shot for major bad acts.</li> <li>Most often, defendants claim that they did not commit the <a href="https://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/alleged" class="extiw" title="wikt:alleged">alleged</a> act in question.</li> <li>The defendant had an <a href="/w/index.php?title=Alibi&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Alibi (not yet started)">alibi</a>. He or she was someplace else when the crime was committed and could not be guilty.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Self-defense">Self-defense</a>, a claim that an act was justified because of something the other person did.</li> <li>An <a href="/wiki/Insanity_defense" title="Insanity defense">Insanity defense</a> claiming the defendant was not capable of telling right from wrong.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Altered_state_of_consciousness" title="Altered state of consciousness">Under the Influence</a>, a claim the defendant should not be held accountable for their actions due to the influences of <a href="/wiki/Drug" title="Drug">drugs</a> or <a href="/wiki/Alcoholic_drink" title="Alcoholic drink">alcoholic drink</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Entrapment" title="Entrapment">Entrapment</a> is an <a href="https://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/induce" class="extiw" title="wikt:induce">inducement</a> to commit a <a href="/wiki/Crime" title="Crime">crime</a> by authorities in order to get a <a href="/wiki/Conviction" title="Conviction">conviction</a>.</li></ul> <p>Many of the above are considered an <a href="/wiki/Affirmative_defense" class="mw-redirect" title="Affirmative defense">affirmative defense</a> in which case the <a href="/wiki/Legal_burden_of_proof" title="Legal burden of proof">burden of proof</a> may be on the defendant to prove their innocence. Otherwise in a criminal trial the burden of proof usually rests with the <a href="/wiki/Prosecution" class="mw-redirect" title="Prosecution">prosecution</a>. They must prove the defendant is guilty beyond a <a href="/wiki/Reasonable_doubt" title="Reasonable doubt">reasonable doubt</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Related_pages">Related pages</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&veaction=edit&section=3" title="Change section: Related pages" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>change</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section's source code: Related pages"><span>change source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Absolute_defence&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Absolute defence (not yet started)">Absolute defense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lawsuit" title="Lawsuit">Lawsuit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence" title="Presumption of innocence">Presumption of innocence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Criminal_procedure" title="Criminal procedure">Criminal procedure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Statute_of_limitations" title="Statute of limitations">Statute of limitations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adversarial_system" title="Adversarial system">Adversarial system</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&veaction=edit&section=4" title="Change section: References" class="mw-editsection-visualeditor"><span>change</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-divider"> | </span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Defense_(legal)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section's source code: References"><span>change source</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r9724317">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> Irving Shapiro, <i>The New Dictionary of Legal Terms</i> (Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications, 1984), p. 55</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r9724332">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thelawdictionary.org/defense/">"What is DEFENSE?"</a>. The Law Dictionary<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 October</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=What+is+DEFENSE%3F&rft.pub=The+Law+Dictionary&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fthelawdictionary.org%2Fdefense%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsimple.wikipedia.org%3ADefense+%28legal%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r9724332"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/defenses-criminal-charges-30275.html">"Defenses to Criminal Charges"</a>. NOLO<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 October</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Defenses+to+Criminal+Charges&rft.pub=NOLO&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nolo.com%2Flegal-encyclopedia%2Fdefenses-criminal-charges-30275.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsimple.wikipedia.org%3ADefense+%28legal%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles nomobile"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r9122492">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output 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