Entrapment is a rarely-used defense in Texas criminal cases for several reasons:

  1. Difficult Standard. “It is a defense to prosecution that the actor engaged in the conduct charged because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement agent using persuasion or other means likely to cause persons to commit the offense. Conduct merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense does not constitute entrapment.” Establishing this can be quite difficult.

  2. Predisposition: The entrapment defense is not applicable if the defendant had a predisposition to commit the crime. If the prosecution can show that the defendant was willing and ready to commit the offense before the law enforcement officer’s intervention, the entrapment defense will likely fail.

  3. Law enforcement tactics: Entrapment typically involves the use of undercover officers or informants who engage in deceptive practices to induce someone to commit a crime. Law enforcement agencies are generally aware of entrapment rules and train their officers to avoid crossing the line into entrapment territory. As a result, genuine instances of entrapment are relatively rare.