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Mistake of law is a legal principle referring to one or more errors that were made by a person in understanding how the applicable law applied to their past activity that is under analysis by a court. In jurisdictions that use the term, it is differentiated from mistake of fact. There is a principle of law that "ignorance of the law is no excuse."
The Criminal Code contains specific provisions dealing with ignorance and mistakes, which permits acquittal in cases of mistakes of fact but not of law. Further, it mandates that a mistake of fact need not be reasonable for the defense to be available, but allows a jury to consider whether a fact is unreasonable in determining whether the ...
Mistake of law is the misunderstanding, incorrect application, or ignorance of the law's existence at the time of the offense. These mistakes must be honest, made in good faith, and reasonable to an ordinary person. Using mistake as a defense does not work in strict liability cases where the defendant's intent is irrelevant.
The most longstanding and still most frequently used measure is the polygraph test. A polygraph, popularly referred to as a lie detector, measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions. [ 11 ]
Mistake (contract law), an erroneous belief, at contracting, that certain facts are true Mistake in English contract law , a specific type of mistake, pertaining to England Mistake (criminal law) , or mistake of fact , a defense to criminal charges on the grounds of ignorance of a fact
Mistake of fact and mistake of law in criminal law and in mistake in contract law; The general policy usually allocated in cases of mistakes is ignorantia juris non excusat, i.e. the state cannot allow ignorance of the law to be a defense. This would unduly encourage the lazy and the deceitful to trade on their ignorance (real or otherwise).
If a defendant is convicted and punished for act that law does not make criminal, it "inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice" and presents "exceptional circumstances" which justify collateral relief. [9]
Mistake of law has proved a successful defense. An example of a legally failed attempt is a person who shoots a tree stump; that person can not be prosecuted for attempted murder as there is no manifest intent to kill by shooting a stump.