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:
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)