Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) Practice Exam

What is entrapment as defined in legal terms?

1. Encouragement by law enforcement to commit a crime for legal action

2. The act of unlawfully taking someone's property

3. A legal defense based on self-incrimination

4. A constitutional right to defend oneself

The correct answer is: Encouragement by law enforcement to commit a crime for legal action

Entrapment, in legal terms, refers to a situation where law enforcement officials induce a person to commit a crime that they otherwise would not have committed, with the intention of prosecuting them for that crime. The essence of entrapment is the interaction between the government and the individual, where the former encourages or persuades an individual to engage in illegal behavior, thus leading to legal action against them. The definition aligns with the notion that law enforcement cannot simply create crime in order to prosecute individuals, as this undermines the fairness of the legal system. To claim entrapment as a defense in court, the individual must demonstrate that they were not predisposed to commit the crime before the law enforcement's involvement. Other options do not accurately describe entrapment. The taking of someone's property, addressed in one choice, pertains to theft or burglary rather than entrapment. Self-incrimination is a concept tied to individuals' rights during a legal process, but it is not a defense related to entrapment. Lastly, a constitutional right to defend oneself pertains to the right to legal representation and self-defense in a general sense, which does not intersect with the specific legal notion of entrapment. Thus, the correct representation of entrapment within