REQUIREMENTS OF OFFENSE LIABILITY

CHAPTER 20. BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF OFFENSE LIABILITY AND

DEFENSES RELATED TO THE OFFENSE HARM OR WRONG
Section 25 – Ignorance or Mistake Negating Required Culpability

Except as provided in Section 33 (Mistaken Belief Consistent with a

Different Offense), evidence of ignorance or mistake as to a matter of fact or

law is admissible to negate the culpability required for an offense.

CHAPTER 50. EXCUSE DEFENSES
Section 57 – Ignorance or Mistake

(a) Ignorance Due to Unavailable Law. A person is excused for his

offense if:

(1) before the conduct constituting the offense was committed,

the statute defining the offense was not known to him and had not been

published or otherwise made reasonably available to him, and

(2) as a result of the circumstance under subsection (a)(1), at the

time of the offense, he does not know his conduct is criminal.

(b) Reliance Upon Official Misstatement of Law. A person is excusedfor his offense if:

(1) he acts in reasonable reliance upon an official statement of the

law, subsequently determined to be invalid or erroneous, contained in:

(i) a statute,

(ii) a judicial decision, opinion, judgment, or rule,

(iii) an administrative order or grant of permission, or

(iv) an official interpretation of the law by the public

official or body charged by law with responsibility for the

interpretation, administration, or enforcement of the law defining

the offense; and

(2) as a result, at the time of the offense, he does not know his

conduct is criminal.

(c) Reasonable Mistake of Law After Due Diligence. A person is

excused for his offense if:

(1) he:

(i) diligently pursues all reasonable means to ascertain the

meaning and application of the offense definition to his conduct,

and

(ii) honestly and in good faith concludes his conduct is not

an offense in circumstances in which a law-abiding and prudent

person would also so conclude; and

(2) as a result, at the time of the offense, he does not know his

conduct is criminal.

(d) (3) Standard of Proof. The defendant must prove a defense under

Subsection (c) by clear and convincing evidence.