"Note the absence of any requirement that willfulness be charged or proved"
Great. Elonis v. US, 2015:
"The Court does not regard “mere omission from a criminal enactment of any mention of criminal intent” as dispensing with such a requirement..."
Great. Elonis v. US, 2015:
"The Court does not regard “mere omission from a criminal enactment of any mention of criminal intent” as dispensing with such a requirement..."
Congress *can* enact strict liability statutes but "they didn't say anything about mens rea so we don't need one!" isn't okay. Defendants don't have to know their conduct is illegal but "must have knowledge of “the facts that make his conduct fit the definition of the offense.”"
"silence on this point by itself does not necessarily suggest that Congress intended to dispense with a conventional mens rea element...indication of congressional intent, express or implied, is required to dispense with mens rea as an element of a crime" Staples v. US
"criminal statutes are generally interpreted “to include broadly applicable scienter requirements, even where the statute ... does not contain them.”" Elonis v. US
I doubt Tribe is unaware of Elonis, Staples, Morissette, X-Citement Video, etc. So is it just dishonesty?
