Is A Mistake Of Fact Defense Your Ticket To An Acquittal?
Law students realize, by the time they finish their first semester course on criminal law, that the ways you can legitimately cast doubt on a defendant’s guilt are virtually endless. From alibis to prosecution witnesses with ulterior motives to unfairly obtained evidence, defenses go well beyond saying, “I didn’t do it.” You could spend your entire career studying affirmative defenses, where defendants say, “I did it, but I’m not guilty.” Affirmative defenses are often applicable in cases where criminal intent is a necessary component of the definition of the offense. For example, the crime of murder consists of killing someone on purpose. If a defendant says, “I killed him in self-defense” and the other evidence corroborates this statement, the jury must acquit. Mistake of fact defenses, where the defendant claims to have acted based on a misunderstanding or incorrect assumption, and therefore without criminal intent, are one type of affirmative defense. To find out whether the mistake of fact defense applies in your case, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.
Ignorance of the Law Does Not Excuse Your Actions, but Other Gaps in Your Knowledge Might
The first time someone told you that ignorance of the rules does not entitle you to break them, you were probably a child, but the same principle applies in criminal law. Mistake of law is not a valid defense; if you have a pocket full of ecstasy tablets when the police pull you over, you are still guilty of possession of MDMA even if you did not know that E was illegal. Likewise, you are still guilty of soliciting a prostitute even if you did not know that it was against the law to pay for sex.
By contrast, a mistake of fact occurs when you knew the law and reasonably believed that you were abiding by it. For example, if your neighbor accuses you of stealing his power tools, you can use the mistake of fact defense by claiming that, when the neighbor gave you the tools, he did not expect you to return them. Likewise, if you get charged with drug possession, you can get acquitted if you can prove that you did not know that the drugs were present.
Mistake of fact defenses do not work when the criminal charge involves intimate contact or sexual advances toward a minor. If you are in your 20s and start dating a girl who tells you she is 18, you can be in trouble if you later find out that she is only 15. The reasonable mistake of age defense is not valid in Florida; even if you only exchanged text messages and never met in person, you can still be charged with online solicitation of a minor.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 40 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
law.cornell.edu/wex/mistake_of_fact#:~:text=A%20mistake%20of%20fact%20is,long%20as%20it%20is%20reasonable.
