The Criminal Justice System Different Types of Criminal...

When a defendant is convicted of a crime, arrested, and stand trial there are multiple ways that they can defend themselves. The criminal justice system has a variety of types of criminal defenses that one should be familiar with, if ever in the position of being charged with an offense. Within this paper, I will be talking about seven different types of criminal defenses, starting with: insanity, automatism, duress, self defense, intoxication, necessity/ lesser harm, and mistake of fact. The first criminal defense is pleading insanity which is an affirmative defense. Insanity is a â€Å"legal term rather than a medical one, and indicates a condition that renders the affected person incapable of rational thought, thereby removing criminal culpability† (Pollock, 2013). This means that a defendant is not responsible for their actions due to having mental health issues. If a defendant pleads guilty to a crime, but is found to be legally insane; they will still serve their sentenc e but with a lesser severe punishment. Once a defendant pleads insanity, they are often required to have a mental examination. When a defendant is in a court of law, they may claim that they were as mentally impaired with illness as to be â€Å"insane† at the time that they were committing the illegal act (Pollock, 2013). However, when pleading insanity it can also create issues by being used in a criminal proceeding. One of the claims that deal with insanity is â€Å"competency†. Competency is a â€Å"mentalShow MoreRelatedThe Four Goals Of The Criminal Justice System769 Words   |  4 PagesThe criminal justice system was put into place for several reasons. There are four main goals of the criminal justice system that all work together to improve and maintain justice in society. 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