What are the 8 criminal defenses?

Asked by: Demario Bailey  |  Last update: January 28, 2026
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There isn't a fixed list of exactly eight common criminal defenses, as they vary, but key examples include Alibi, Self-Defense, Insanity, Duress, Entrapment, Necessity, Mistake of Fact, and Intoxication, alongside issues like Statute of Limitations or Constitutional Violations, all aiming to prove lack of criminal intent (mens rea) or legal responsibility (actus reus).

What are the types of criminal defenses?

Criminal Defenses

  • Accident.
  • Alibi.
  • Coerced or False Confessions.
  • Duress.
  • Entrapment.
  • False Accusations.
  • Insanity.
  • Lack of Probable Cause (PC)

What are the different types of defenses?

The criminal justice system provides a number of different defenses to those who are accused of crimes. These defenses include innocence, alibi, self-defense, insanity, duress, entrapment, statute of limitations and constitutional rights.

What is the hardest crime to defend?

Crimes that are hardest to prevent often involve crimes of passion, white-collar/financial crimes, human trafficking, and cybercrimes, due to their spontaneous nature, complexity, global reach, or lack of physical evidence, making them difficult to predict and investigate compared to more routine offenses. Crimes like burglary are also challenging because they're often opportunistic, targeting unoccupied locations, and perpetrators use precautions like gloves to avoid leaving evidence. 

How many defenses can be used in a criminal case?

Typically, there are 4 major categories of criminal defense strategies that are employed by a criminal defense attorney: Innocence. Violation of Constitutional Rights. Self-defense or Defense of Others.

Section 3.4.1: Introduction to Criminal Defenses

37 related questions found

What is the weakest defense in a criminal case?

Alibi is the weakest defense, being easy to fabricate and difficult to disprove. A positive identification of the accused, where categorical and consistent and without any showing of ill motive on the part of the eyewitness testifying on the matter, prevails over alibi and denial.

What are the 4 types of defenses?

The four main types of criminal defenses generally fall into categories like Innocence/Alibi (proving you didn't do it), Justification (act was necessary, like self-defense), Excuse (lack of culpability due to mental state or duress, like insanity), and Constitutional/Procedural Violations (challenging police/court actions). These strategies either deny the act, admit it but provide a legal reason, or attack the way the case was handled, with common examples including self-defense, insanity, alibi, and constitutional violations. 

What are the 8 focused crimes?

"8 focus crimes" typically refers to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program's Part I offenses in the U.S. (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, vehicle theft, arson) or, in the Philippines, the Philippine National Police (PNP) list (murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, carnapping of vehicles/motorcycles). These lists cover serious, frequent crimes that law enforcement tracks closely, though the specific categories differ slightly between systems.
 

What felony is worse, C or D?

Class D felonies encompass offenses that still have considerable seriousness but are generally less impactful than those classified as Class A, B, or C. These crimes may involve lower levels of harm or smaller financial losses. They carry a maximum penalty of between 5 and 10 years in prison.

What are the 8 most serious crimes?

There isn't a universally defined list of exactly "8 heinous crimes," but common examples include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, kidnapping, torture, and war crimes/crimes against humanity, often categorized by their extreme violence, impact on human life, or violation of fundamental human rights, encompassing both serious violent and property crimes in domestic contexts (like the FBI's UCR list) and severe international violations. 

What is the 7 technique in defense?

The 7-technique has to knock the tight end back so that can't happen," said Redding. If the tackle overlaps the tight end's hip, do NOT attempt to lock out. Keep the fit with shoulders squared, drive it and flatten the tight end down the L.O.S. Don't let the tight end chip up to a linebacker.

What are the three excuse defenses?

Excuse defenses—insanity, infancy, and intoxication—reflect a core principle of criminal law: a defendant's moral blameworthiness depends not only on wrongful conduct but also on the capacity to understand and choose law-abiding behavior.

What are the 12 defense mechanisms?

The 12 Freudian defense mechanisms are compensation, denial, displacement, identification, introjection, projection, reaction formation, rationalization, regression, repression, ritual & undoing, and sublimation.

What is the strongest type of defense to a criminal charge?

Q: What Is the Strongest Type of Defense to a Criminal Charge? A: Typically, the strongest type of defense you can have in a criminal charge is anything that summons the possibility of reasonable doubt. The prosecution's goal in your case is to prove that you committed the crime in question beyond a reasonable doubt.

What are the 5 general categories of crime?

Five common types of crime include Violent Crimes, Property Crimes, White-Collar Crimes, Organized Crime, and Public Order Crimes, though categories can overlap, encompassing offenses like homicide (violent), burglary (property), fraud (white-collar), drug trafficking (organized/public order), and cybercrimes (cross-category).
 

What is a layered defense?

Layered defense, also known as defense-in-depth, is a cybersecurity strategy that employs multiple security measures to protect critical systems and data. The core idea is to create several layers of defense so that if one layer is compromised, others are in place to mitigate the attack.

What's the worst felony to get?

The "worst" felony is typically a Capital Felony, often defined as premeditated murder, treason, or espionage, carrying penalties of life imprisonment or the death penalty, though federal systems classify the most severe as Class A felonies, which also include murder, terrorism, and large-scale drug trafficking, punishable by life in prison or the death penalty. Specifics vary by state, but generally, the most serious crimes (like first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault, arson causing death) fall into the highest categories (Class A, First Degree, Capital). 

What are the 4 types of offenses?

Offences against person, property or state. Personal offences, fraudulent offences. Violent offences, sexual offences. Indictable/non-indictable offences etc.

What is a level 5 felony?

A Level 5 felony is a mid-tier serious crime, ranking above the least severe felonies (like Class 6) and below more serious ones (Classes 1-4), with penalties including potential prison time, large fines, and loss of rights, though specifics vary by state, with examples including aggravated assault, grand theft, or drug offenses, and sometimes being convertible to a misdemeanor (a "wobbler") in states like Virginia. 

What are the 5 main crimes?

Five common types of crime include Violent Crimes, Property Crimes, White-Collar Crimes, Organized Crime, and Public Order Crimes, though categories can overlap, encompassing offenses like homicide (violent), burglary (property), fraud (white-collar), drug trafficking (organized/public order), and cybercrimes (cross-category).
 

What are the 4 criminal states of mind?

As we will see, the MPC categorizes culpable mental states into four tiers of culpability: purposely (acting with a conscious objective to produce the offense specified in the statute); knowingly (acting while being practically certain of the offending result); recklessly (acting with a conscious disregard for the risk ...

What are the 8 steps in a criminal case?

Stages of a Criminal Case & The Legal Process

  • Arrest. Criminal prosecution typically begins with an arrest by a police officer. ...
  • Bail. ...
  • Arraignment. ...
  • Preliminary Hearing or Grand Jury Proceedings. ...
  • Pre-Trial Motions. ...
  • Trial. ...
  • Sentencing. ...
  • Appeal.

What are the most common criminal defenses?

Common Legal Defenses in California Criminal Cases

  • Lack of Evidence. One of the fundamental principles of our justice system is that the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. ...
  • Self-Defense. ...
  • Unlawful Search and Seizure. ...
  • False Accusations. ...
  • Alibi Defense. ...
  • Entrapment. ...
  • Mistaken Identity. ...
  • Coerced Confessions.

What are the 4 A's of self-defense?

This process details the Fours A's Self Defense Process; Avoidance, Awareness, Assessment, and Action.

What are the 4 classifications of crime?

Crimes are generally graded into four categories: felonies, misdemeanors, felony-misdemeanors, and infractions. Often the criminal intent element affects a crime's grading.