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Are You a Cop?

By Neil Shous, Esq.

An old urban legend has it that undercover cops must disclose their police status if a suspect inquires. So if a drug dealer about to sell to an undercover asks "Are you a cop?", the legend has it that the UC must identify himself or else run afoul of the entrapment rules. But California entrapment law imposes no such requirement on the police. Cops may pretend not to be cops. They may even deny adamantly their true status in order to reassure suspects. Otherwise, undercover operations would be pointless. So where does California entrapment law draw the line? The cops can't persuade normally law-abiding citizens to engage in crime--or agree to engage in crimes--that they were not otherwise predisposed to commit. For example, if undercover cops come to your home and offer you large amounts of cash to engage in a fraud scheme--one you otherwise never would have considered--that's probably entrapment...continue to full post

Full post as published by California Criminal Defense Blog on September 23, 2009 (boomark / email).