Legal Definitions - alibi

An alibi is a legal defense used in criminal cases where a person accused of a crime claims they could not have committed it because they were physically located somewhere else at the exact time the crime occurred. It essentially argues that it was impossible for the accused to be at the crime scene.

As a verb, "to alibi" means to provide or confirm such a defense for someone.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of an alibi:

• Example 1: A person is accused of a bank robbery that took place at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday. However, they present evidence, such as a time-stamped receipt from a gas station 200 miles away and a statement from a hotel clerk, proving they were checking out of a hotel in a different state at 9:45 AM that same morning.

  Explanation: This demonstrates an alibi because the evidence places the accused at a distant location, making it physically impossible for them to have been at the bank robbery scene at the time it occurred.

• Example 2: A suspect is identified in connection with a vandalism incident that occurred at a local park between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM on a Saturday night. The suspect provides security camera footage from their apartment building, showing them entering their apartment at 6:50 PM and not leaving until 8:30 PM, along with testimony from a roommate who was with them the entire evening.

  Explanation: This illustrates an alibi by providing verifiable visual evidence and witness testimony that confirms the accused was at their residence, not at the park, during the timeframe of the vandalism.

• Example 3: An individual is charged with a specific instance of online identity theft that occurred at 3:00 PM on a particular date, traced to an IP address in their home city. They can provide airline boarding passes, passport entry stamps, and photos with geotags showing they were on a safari in a remote part of Africa with no internet access at that exact time.

  Explanation: Even for a digital crime, an alibi can be established by proving the accused was physically absent from the country and unable to access the internet from the location where the crime originated, thereby making their involvement impossible.