There are several legal defenses which can be applicable to theft cases even when the underlying claims support the fact that the defendant seized property from another party without his consent. While defending cases of theft, they usually have to be straightforward. Majority of them who are charged guilty with theft usually commit the crime. However, that doesn’t meaan that the person will be convicted of the said crime. The obligation of the defense lawyer is to charge the prosecutor and hold him guilty and there are times when there are errors in the case of the prosecutor and he might not be informed about it.
With any criminal case, the entire things depend on few facts. By assuming that the property of the accused individual actually occurred, here are the kinds of typical defenses which can be applied to theft issues.
Ownership of property or claiming rights of ownership
A person who has been accused of robbing a property should be having a valid defense in case they were to establish that they believed that the property that they took had a valid claim. Though you may think that this is a straightforward defense, yet it isn’t something as simple as ‘I thought the property was mine.’ If it’s a defendant, he would require providing evidence which supports such a claim.
Returning property in the form of defense
People are often of the opinion that if giving back a stolen property could offer a defense to the theft or prohibit charges from being brought to place, this would be a good option. But you’ll rather be unhappy to know that returning property that was once stolen wouldn’t offer a defence to a theft charge. Doing so will paint an empathetic picture to the prosecutor and this will also diminish the number of penalties in such a case. In a similar way, you are allowed to defend against any theft charges in case you forget to return a thing that has been borrowed.
Intoxication
It might be possible to defend any theft charge successfully when the defendant is allowed to prove that he was intoxicated during the occurence of the crime. Irrespective of the type of intoxication, chemicals, alcohol or drugs, if the person is not able to form the intention required for stealing, this might form a viable defense of intoxication. For example, if you were charged of theft after you mistook someone’s coat due to the fact that you were drunk, this may become a solid defense.
Entrapment
The entrapment defense is applicable when the person commits a crime but he was forced to do so by someone else who was the main initiator of the case. In case of a theft, this type of defense would come when the intention to steal came from another entrapped person.
So, when it comes to defending theft crimes, you can always get the help of a criminal defense lawyer who can handle such cases with expertise and skill.
