What is considered entrapment under Georgia criminal defense law?
Entrapment under Georgia law, addressed in O.C.G.A. 16-3-25, refers to a specific situation in which the conduct of law enforcement causes a person to commit an offense they would not otherwise have committed. Recognizing what falls within this concept clarifies the boundaries of the defense.
Entrapment involves official inducement. The concept centers on a person being induced to commit an offense by law enforcement or someone acting for the state, rather than acting on their own initiative. What distinguishes entrapment is that the impetus came from the state.
The person’s lack of predisposition is central. Entrapment concerns offenses a person was not predisposed to commit, so a person already inclined toward the conduct is generally not considered to have been entrapped. The absence of predisposition is a defining feature.
Providing an opportunity is not entrapment. Merely creating an opportunity for a person to commit an offense generally does not amount to entrapment, which requires something more in the way of inducement. The line between opportunity and inducement is part of what defines the concept.
What is considered entrapment generally involves official inducement, a lack of predisposition on the part of the person, and conduct going beyond merely providing an opportunity. What sets entrapment apart is that the push to commit the offense came from the state and met a person who was not already inclined toward it, rather than one merely handed an opportunity. The line matters because officers may lawfully present a chance to offend, and only pressure that overbears an unwilling person crosses into entrapment.