Affirmative Defense: A Guide to Affirmative DWI Defense
Automatism Defense
Using Automatism and Involuntary Intoxication Defense in DWI Cases
Coercion-Duress Defense
Duress Defense
in the DWI Context
Entrapment Defense
Utilizing the Entrapment Defense for Successful DWI Defense
Necessity Defense
The Necessity Defense in the Context of Driving While Impaired
Automatism Defense
Using Automatism and Involuntary Intoxication Defense in DWI Cases
It’s not often that you’ll get a chance in court to use either the automatism defense or the involuntary intoxication defense.
This means it’s easy to forget the details of each defense! (Did you remember that you only have to prove them to the jury’s satisfaction, rather than beyond reasonable doubt?)
In this chapter, we’ll review each defense in detail.
Coercion-Duress Defense
Duress Defense in the DWI Context
Another, more frequent affirmative defense against a DWI charge is the duress defense, also known as the defense of coercion. A defendant may have been forced to drive while under the influence, as for example when escaping from an assailant.
If your client finds himself in such a situation, use this chapter for a thorough overview of this defense and how to present it.
Entrapment Defense
Utilizing the Entrapment Defense for Successful DWI Defense
If a defendant can show that he committed a DWI at the urging of a government official, then he can successfully employ an entrapment defense.
This chapter reviews the two elements that must be present for a successful entrapment defense, but also discusses significant court cases that have defined how this defense can or can’t be argued successfully.
Necessity Defense
The Necessity Defense in the Context of Driving While Impaired
In our final chapter, we discuss the affirmative defense known as the necessity defense. This can be employed when the crime committed was in fact the most reasonable available action to avoid death or serious damage to person.
Clearly, it is important to understand the defense’s legal context and background to understand when and how it should be argued.