If you are mistaken as to a fact or the law, it may be a defense to certain crimes under California law.
If you have been charged with a crime, you may be tempted to respond with something that might have worked on your parents when you were a child — “I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to do that!” or “I didn’t know that it wasn’t mine!” But will those defenses really work to actual criminal charges as an adult? According to a seasoned criminal defense attorney in Orange County, CA , the answer depends on the crime that you are charged with and the specific facts of your case.
As a general rule, ignorance of the law is not a defense to a crime. You cannot typically claim that you didn’t know that it was against the law to do X, and therefore you cannot be guilty of the crime. However, there are situations in which mistake of law might be a defense to a crime. For specific intent crimes — that is, when you must have possess a certain mental state in order to be convicted of a crime — mistake of law might be a viable defense to a crime. For example, if a crime requires a person to do something knowingly, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant had knowledge that his or her actions were wrongful at the time that they were done. If a person was mistaken as to the law, then he or she could not having that mental state of knowingly violating the law. While it is rare to successfully use the defense of mistake a law, a skilled criminal defense attorney in Orange County, CA may be able to help you use it depending on the facts of your case.
Mistake of fact is a more commonly used defense to criminal charges. Like mistake of law, it can be used to show that someone did not knowingly violate the law. But in this case, the defendant did not have the required mental state because he or she made an honest and reasonable mistake about a fact. For example, if a person picks up a purse that looks very similar to her own and walks away with it, leaving her own behind, that could be an honest and reasonable mistake of fact that could defeat a theft charge — this person just made a mistake about which purse was hers. But if that same person knew that she did not bring a purse and the purse that she took did not look similar to hers, a mistake of fact defense will not work.
Mistake defenses can be complicated, and require the assistance of a skilled criminal defense attorney in Orange County, CA. If you have been charged with a crime, mistake of fact or of law are just two possible defenses that can be used by your lawyer to attempt to achieve a favorable outcome.
At the Chambers Law Firm, our seasoned criminal defense attorneys zealously advocate for our clients to protect their rights. Contact our office today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
