NCJ Number
142034
Journal
Criminal Law Forum Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1992) Pages: 369-400
Date Published
1992
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the serial view of criminal law defenses concludes that definitions of types of defenses should neither implicitly nor explicitly specify their relationships to other defense types.
Abstract
Robinson defines five distinct defense categories, which he names failure of proof defenses, offense modification defenses, justifications, excuses, and nonexculpatory public policy defenses. Robinson and others typically describe these types as having a logical relationship to each other; Robinson characterizes this relationship as serial. He also states that each successive type of defense need only be considered if those preceding it are unavailable. However, this approach has several disadvantages and, arguably, no advantages. Instead of a serial approach, defendants' pleas should not be interpreted as conceding either the existence or the nonexistence of another possible defense. Footnotes