Affirmative Defenses

A Levels Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00When you're walking into court to defend yourself,

00:02it can sometimes feel like you versus the world.

00:06But no matter what you anxiously tell yourself in the mirror that morning,

00:09it's not true.

00:11As a defendant, you have a variety of approaches

00:13to take in response to the plaintiff's, the accuser's, claim.

00:17And LegalYou realizes the more knowledge you have of your choices,

00:21the better off you're going to be.

00:23It's like going into battle with an entire arsenal,

00:25as opposed to, you know, just a slingshot.

00:28One way to go if you're fighting an accusation

00:31is to use what's known as an affirmative defense.

00:34An affirmative defense is when you claim a legal excuse for your actions.

00:38Basically, it's an explanation for the defendant's conduct

00:41that makes the accuser's argument irrelevant,

00:44but an excuse that, of course, you have to prove.

00:48Now, there are many different types of affirmative defenses

00:50in all types of cases, literally dozens,

00:54including ones with names such as fraud in the inducement,

00:57cardinal change,

00:58and something called estoppel,

01:00which sounds more like a European pastry than a legal device.

01:04But some of the more familiar affirmative defenses in criminal cases

01:07are things like self-defense or the insanity plea.

01:11Let's take fraud in the inducement as an example.

01:14Say you signed a contract and didn't pay,

01:17but initially you were tricked into signing a contract.

01:20If you're able to show in court that you were tricked,

01:23then the signed contract doesn't matter.

01:25But remember that claiming an affirmative defense

01:27means that you are required to bring the believable evidence of what you say.

01:32The lawyers call this having the burden of proof,

01:35so it's important to use affirmative defenses strategically.

01:39Getting the right information and doing proper research

01:41will prepare you for that

01:43and put you in the best position to defend yourself.