The following excerpt is from USA v. Hancock, 231 F.3d 557 (9th Cir. 2000):
The rule "results from the extreme difficulty of ascertaining what is, bona fide, the interpretation of the party; and the extreme danger of allowing such excuses to be set up for illegal acts, to the detriment of the public. " Barlow v. United States, 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 404, 411 (1833). For "there would be perpetual temptations to violations of the law, if men were not put upon extreme vigilance to avoid them." Id.
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