Mistake

Defenses to Crimes: Mistake

Introduction to Mistake

Mistake of fact constitutes a defense to criminal liability if it can be shown that, owing to the mistake, the accused person lacked the mental fault required to commit the crime in question. If a person takes another’s coat, mistakenly believing that it is his or her own coat, this mistake negates the intent to steal that is required for the crime of larceny. On the other hand, if a person, with the intent to steal, takes another’s coat mistakenly believing that the coat belongs to a third person, this mistake does not negate the person’s intent to steal, and he or she is guilty of larceny. In certain instances a crime is committed even if the perpetrator made a mistake that negates his or her intent to commit a crime. For example, a person who has sexual intercourse with a minor (a person who is under a certain age specified by statute) can be found guilty of statutory rape even if he or she honestly believed that the other person was older.

The general rule is that ignorance or mistake of criminal law is not a defense to criminal liability. Therefore, if a person engages in a criminal act without knowing that the act is illegal, the mistake is no defense to criminal liability. This rule applies even if the mistake is based on the advice of a lawyer, because a contrary rule would encourage ignorance of the law. Some courts, however, recognize the defense of ignorance if the accused person (1) acted in reasonable, good-faith reliance upon a statute or judicial decision that is subsequently held to be invalid; or (2) reasonably relied upon an erroneous interpretation or statement of law provided by a public official legally responsible for the interpretation, administration, or enforcement of the law.” (1)

Mistake

Find out, in this world legal encyclopedia, additional information relating to Mistake.

Mistake

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on mistake explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “mistake” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Mistake in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Mistake

In this Section

Criminal Law Elements (including Wrongful Act and Mental Fault), Defenses to Crimes (including Insanity, Age, Intoxication, Duress, Mistake, Self-Defense and Entrapment) and Crime Parties (including Principals

and Accessories).

The Legal History of Error and Mistake

This section provides an overview of Error and Mistake

Resources

See Also

• Legal Biography
• Legal Traditions
• Historical Laws
• History of Law

Further Reading

• Error and Mistake in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Error and Mistake in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly