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Mistake of Law
We have encountered mistake claims previously. We saw from cases like Prince that a mistake is a defense to a crime if it negates the mens rea required by statute. As the Model Penal Code points out, whether we use the language of mistake makes no difference: A mistake provides a defense if and only if it negates the mens rea required by statute.
The nuance here is that determining what mens rea is required by statute and then whether the defendant's mistake demonstrates that he did not have that mens rea.
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