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ISBN: 9781552214992-12

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Guidance, Culpability, and Mistake of Law

From: Sovereignty, Restraint, and Guidance

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Chapter 12 examines the doctrine that errors of law cannot excuse. The doctrine has sometimes been criticized as unfair to defendants. But from a guidance-centred perspective, it would be peculiar if the law emboldened members of the public not to look to criminal offences for insight into how they may or must conduct themselves. What is more, the suggestion that the doctrine permits the punishment of blameless individuals is often quite overstated.

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Michael Plaxton

Michael Plaxton is a professor of law at the University of Saskatchewan. He teaches and writes about criminal law, evidence, philosophy of law, statutory interpretation, and constitutional theory. He is the author of Implied Consent & Sexual Assault: Intimate Relationships, Autonomy, and Voice (McGill-Queen’s, 2015).