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2025 Utah Code
Title 76 - Utah Criminal Code
Chapter 2 - Principles of Criminal Responsibility
Part 3 - Defenses to Criminal Responsibility
Section 304 - Ignorance or mistake of fact or law.
Universal Citation:
UT Code § 76-2-304 (2025)
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Effective 5/7/2025
76-2-304. Ignorance or mistake of fact or law.
Amended by Chapter 302, 2025 General Session
76-2-304. Ignorance or mistake of fact or law.
- (1)Unless otherwise provided, ignorance or mistake of fact which disproves the culpable mental state is a defense to any prosecution for that crime.
- (2)Ignorance or mistake concerning the existence or meaning of a penal law is no defense to a crime unless:
- (a)due to an actor's ignorance or mistake, the actor reasonably believed the actor's conduct did not constitute an offense; and
- (b)an actor's ignorance or mistake resulted from the actor's reasonable reliance upon:
- (i)an official statement of the law contained in a written order or grant of permission by an administrative agency charged by law with responsibility for interpreting the law in question; or
- (ii)a written interpretation of the law contained in an opinion of a court of record or made by a public servant charged by law with responsibility for interpreting the law in question.
- (3)Although an actor's ignorance or mistake of fact or law may constitute a defense to the offense charged, the actor may nevertheless be convicted of a lesser included offense of which the actor would be guilty if the fact or law were as the actor believed.
Amended by Chapter 302, 2025 General Session
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