Criminal Law

8 Mistake, intoxication, self- vindication Mistake Introduction English adept divides mistake in illegal justness of nature into deuce parts: mistake of law and mistake of fact. The common whale is that if the incriminate makes a mistake of law, he is guilty, whereas if he makes a mistake of fact, he is not. Unfortunately the law is more conglomerate than these propositions touch onlyow. A preliminary point is that if an impeach because of a disease of the mind makes a mistake of law, he may have a defence of insanity. This defence is discussed in the attached chapter. Mistake and ignorance of law In Esop (1836) 173 ER 203 the accused was convicted of an offensive under English law, buggery; under his in-person law no such offence existed. Accordingly, where the accused has the pertinent actus reus and mens rea for the crime, he is guilty even though he did not fill in that the actus reus was forbidden by the criminal law. He was mistaken as to the restrains o f English law. Moreover, ignorance of the law is no defence: Bailey (1800) 168 ER 657. The accused was convicted of a crime which Parliament had created enchantment he was on the high seas, and there was no carriage of ?nding out that a law had been enacted. The case has been taken to assume that impossibility is no defence. However, it may be that Bailey should be hit the books differently.

The case was referred to all the judges. They recommended a pardon. Since at that time a pardon was the sole way of reversing the ?rst instance decision, it may be that they disagreed with the proposition that ignorance of the law was no defence. Bailey has nevertheless! been treated as deciding that, and the rule has been accepted in, e.g., Carter v McLaren (1871) LR 2 Sc & D 120. The rule was deferd by the Court of Appeal in Lightfoot (1993) 97 Cr App R 24: . . . Knowledge of the law . . . is contradictory . . . The fact that a man does not sack out what is criminal and what is not . . . cannot save him from conviction if what he does, conjugate with the state of his mind, satis?es all the elements...If you want to get a total essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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