Under New York law, entrapment defense requires which of the following elements?

• A. Government initiated the crime (sting)
• B. D had predisposition to commit the crime
• C. The crime was spontaneous by the defendant
• D. The defendant was coerced by a private individual

Answer: (A)

Entrapment hinges on preventing law enforcement from creating criminal intent in someone who would not have engaged in the offense otherwise. Under New York law, the defense is available when the government initiated or actively induced the crime and the defendant was not predisposed to commit the offense before the government’s involvement. This means a sting or other government inducement is essential criteria. If the crime was spontaneous by the defendant or if the defendant had predisposition to commit the offense anyway, entrapment would not apply. Coercion by a private individual is a duress issue, not entrapment. So the element being tested here is that the government initiated the crime through inducement.