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Knowing or Willful Violations
The cases in the section deal not with legal elements ("taking the property of another," "below the age of consent," etc.) but with those rare situations where the law will excuse a defendant who knows exactly what she is doing but is unaware that the law prohibits her conduct. As with most questions of mens rea, courts treat this idea of "willful" or "knowing" violation as a matter of legislative intent.
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