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Haw. Rev. Stat. § 702-220

Ignorance or mistake of law; belief that conduct not legally prohibited

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case State v. Cote (2008)

Most recently applied in State v. Cote (April 2008)

L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1973, c 136, §3(b); gen ch 1993

How often courts cite this section

2001200810
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

In any prosecution, it shall be an affirmative defense that the defendant engaged in the conduct or caused the result alleged under the belief that the conduct or result was not legally prohibited when the defendant acts in reasonable reliance upon an official statement of the law, afterward determined to be invalid or erroneous, contained in:

(1) A statute or other enactment;

(2) A judicial decision, opinion, or judgment;

(3) An administrative order or administrative grant of permission; or

(4) An official interpretation of the public officer or body charged by law with responsibility for the interpretation, administration, or enforcement of the law defining the offense.

Official source: Hawaii State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Hawaii statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.