Effective 01 Jan 2017, see footnote
562.031. Ignorance and mistake. — 1. A person is not relieved of criminal liability for conduct because he or she engages in such conduct under a mistaken belief of fact or law unless such mistake negatives the existence of the mental state required by the offense.
2. A person is not relieved of criminal liability for conduct because he or she believes his or her conduct does not constitute an offense unless his or her belief is reasonable and:
(1) The offense is defined by an administrative regulation or order which is not known to him or her and has not been published or otherwise made reasonably available to him or her, and he or she could not have acquired such knowledge by the exercise of due diligence pursuant to facts known to him or her; or
(2) He or she acts in reasonable reliance upon an official statement of the law, afterward determined to be invalid or erroneous, contained in:
(a) A statute;
(b) An opinion or order of an appellate court; or
(c) An official interpretation of the statute, regulation or order defining the offense made by a public official or agency legally authorized to interpret such statute, regulation or order.
3. The burden of injecting the issue of reasonable belief that conduct does not constitute an offense under subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection 2 of this section is on the defendant.
--------
(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491)
Effective 1-01-17
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.