Mistake (criminal Law)
A mistake of fact may sometimes mean, that while a person has committed the physical element of an offence, because they were labouring under a mistake of fact, they never formed the required mens rea, and so will escape liability for offences that require mens rea. This is unlike a mistake of law, which is not usually a defense.
Read more about Mistake (criminal Law): Discussion, Honestly Held But Unreasonable Beliefs, England and Wales
Famous quotes containing the word mistake:
“... the great mistake of the reformers is to believe that life begins and ends with health, and that happiness begins and ends with a full stomach and the power to enjoy physical pleasures, even of the finer kind.”
—Katharine Fullerton Gerould (1879–1944)