Discussion: Criminal Justice Strategies Related to a Defense

As a criminal justice professional, you encounter defenses ranging from intoxication to self-defense and from necessity to diminished capacity. Each can alter your thought processes, procedures, and strategies—whether you are police, the prosecution, or the criminal defense lawyer.

For this Discussion, you consider how a defendant who states that they committed a crime, but whose actions were defensible, would affect criminal justice professionals such as police officers, prosecutors, and defense attorneys as they prepare for the case.

By Day 3 of Week 3

Post a response to the following:

• How does the concept of an action being defensible apply to procedures and strategies that you may use—or be required to use— as a police officer, a defense attorney, and a prosecutor when preparing for a case where the defendant plans to state that they did commit the crime, but that they are not guilty because the action was defensible?
• How do one’s actions as a police officer, a defense attorney, and a prosecutor change based on the type of defense the defendant uses?

By Day 5 of Week 3

Respond to two colleagues:

• Choose a response that is different from your own.
• Explain how your colleague’s position has changed your perception or understanding.