offence: an illegal act crime 违法行为;犯罪;罪行 countable ~ (against sb/sth)
a criminal/serious/minor/sexual offence 刑事罪;严重违法犯罪;轻罪;性犯罪
a first offence(= the first time that somebody has been found guilty of a crime) 初犯
a capital offence(= one for which somebody may be punished by death) 死罪
He was not aware that he had committed an offence. 他没有意识到自己犯罪了.
an offence against society/humanity/the state 妨害社会/人类/国家的罪行
New legislation makes it an offence to carry guns. 新法律规定持枪为犯罪行为.
Defence: what is said in a court of law to prove that a person did not commit a crime; the act of presenting this argument in a court of law 辩辞;辩护;答辩 countable
Her defence was that she was somewhere completely different at the time of the crime. 她辩护说案发时她根本就不在现场.
He wanted to conduct his own defence. 他想自己为自己辩护.