What is the current state of the law on "willfulness" in a criminal statute containing an ambiguous "willness" element?
MultiRegion, United States of America
The following excerpt is from United States v. Liu, D.C. No. 5:06-cr-00772-JW-1, No. 10-10613 (9th Cir. 2013):
When faced with a criminal statute containing an ambiguous "willfulness" element, courts normally resolve any doubt in favor of the defendant. Ratzlaf, 510 U.S. at 148 (citing Hughey v. United States, 495 U.S. 411, 422 (1990)). Although the general rule is that "ignorance of the law or a mistake of law is no defense to criminal prosecution," the modern proliferation of statutes and regulations "sometimes
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