11th Cir. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) S13.2

“Entrapment” occurs when law-enforcement officers or others under their

direction persuade a defendant to commit a crime the defendant had no previous

intent to commit.

The Defendant has claimed to be a victim of entrapment regarding the

charged offense.

The law forbids convicting an entrapped defendant.

But there is no entrapment when a Defendant is willing to break the law and

the Government merely provides what appears to be a favorable opportunity for

the Defendant to commit a crime.

For example, it’s not entrapment for a Government agent to pretend to be

someone else and offer – directly or through another person – to engage in an

unlawful transaction.

You must not evaluate the conduct of Government officers or others under

their direction to decide whether you approve of the conduct or think it was moral.

So a defendant isn’t a victim of entrapment if you find beyond a reasonable

doubt that the Government only offered the defendant an opportunity to commit a

crime the Defendant was already willing to commit.

But if there is a reasonable doubt about whether the Defendant was willing

to commit the crime without the persuasion of a Government officer or a person

under the Government’s direction, then you must find the Defendant not guilty.