People v. Bray
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeals
Full case nameThe People of the State of California, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. James Eugene Bray, Defendant and Appellant.
DecidedOctober 27, 1975 (1975-10-27)
Citation(s)52 Cal. App. 3d 494; 124 Cal. Rptr. 913
Court membership
Judges sittingGerald Brown, Richard D. Ault, Martin J. Coughlin[lower-alpha 1]
Case opinions
MajorityBrown, joined by Ault, Coughlin

People v. Bray, 52 Cal. App. 3d 494 (1975), was a case decided by the California Court of Appeal that allowed ignorance of a grading element to be a defense to criminal prosecution.[1]

Factual background

Defendant Bray was convicted of being a felon in possession of firearms. Bray did possess two concealable firearms, but his status as a felon was unclear. Bray had been convicted in Kansas years earlier of being an accessory after the fact, but even at trial it was unclear if this offense was a felony under Kansas law. Subsequently, when Bray was required to disclose felon status on forms for things like voting, he explained the situation and was allowed to vote in California.[2]

Decision

The Court of Appeal reversed Bray's conviction, allowing his mistake about his felony status to act as a defense to criminal liability. Under the Model Penal Code, a mistake of criminal law, like one's felony status, is not normally allowed as a defense.[3] Instead the court treated Bray's mistake about his felony status, a grading element in the statute under which he was charged, as a mistake of fact that was an appropriate defense.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Retired; sitting under appointment

References

  1. ↑ Bonnie, R.J. et al. Criminal Law, Second Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NY: 2004, p. 225
  2. ↑ Bonnie, p. 225
  3. ↑ Dressler, J. Understanding Criminal Law, Fifth Edition. Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. New York, NY: 2009, p. 178
  4. ↑ Bonnie, p. 226

Text of People v. Bray (1975) is available from: Google Scholar  Justia 

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.