Ignorance of the law is no excuse- Why is that

Question

Surely that is the perfect excuse?

Answer 1

because you can always lie and say you didnt know lol

Answer 2

Because you should be aware of the laws you live under.

Answer 3

In our country it has never been possible for a normal person to know definitively what is and is not legal.  This is guaranteed by overlapping federal, state, and local statutes, and the overlay of common law judicial decisions.  Even lawyers disagree about the proper rule in many cases, so how could a non-lawyer hope to understand them?  But we maintain this fiction that the law is still knowable, and therefore that "ignorance of the law is no excuse" because the system could not operate as it is otherwise.  We have placed this old maxim above the reality, which is that the law is so complicated as to be meaningless.

The government has no interest in making the law knowable, but it will punish you for not knowing it.  It's called hypocrisy, and it's the basis for much of what our legal system does.

Answer 4

Hmmmm, but then nearly everyone would be free to commit any crime they liked... despite the fact that there are a lot of laws, "most" of them are common sense and so unless you're morally dubious anyway, you wouldn't break them in the first place. any of those "other" are usually broken with good mitigating circumstances and so no prosecution comes anyway.

Answer 5

I'm sure that would depend on the specific law that you are talking about.  You are expected to know right from wrong to the extent that any reasonable person in our society would be expected to know.  Now if you are a truck driver, it would be reasonable to expect you to know the laws regarding loads, transporting hazardous materials, specific lighting requirements for the type of equipment that you are operating etc.  If you were an airline pilot, then you would be expected to know the regulations that affect that industry.  Now if you are a truck driver and are on a plane and some freak accident kills the pilot, co-pilot and navigator and no one else steps up so you take the controls, no one will expect you to know the specific laws regulating your approach to an FAA tower and then you would be right ... ignorance would be the perfect excuse as no reasonable person would expect you to know that.

Answer 6

and that's the reason.  everyone would just claim ignorance.  

Answer 7

There are certain morals that this Country was founded upon. This is a religious connotation. Its roots were the 10 commandments. Within them are revealed the common laws which violate the society as a whole. Our criminal code is founded and based upon those 10 rules.

Common sense would also dictate that one does not take the life of another or steal the property of another.

By being ignorant of the law - you are saying you are ignorant of the moral values and judgements instilled upon you within a society.  

The only arguement for such a defense is insanity which as many definition to lengthy for an answer.      

Answer 8

Because the law holds that you cannot prove an abstract negative. In other words, you could not PROVE that you didn't know you were breaking the law, so anyone could theoretically claim ignorance of the law after the fact and get away with murder. So, claimed ignorance of the law is not accepted as an excuse.

Answer 9

As you say - because everyone would use it as an excuse and everyone would get away with every crime.

Answer 10

Because as a citizen you should be aware of the laws that govern your country so if you don't know the basic laws that is no excuse for

committing a crime.

Answer 11

Interesting question.

The concept of "ignorance of the law is no excuse" originated in ancient times when the laws were few in number and based on common morals (i.e. don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, etc.). But today, if every citizen was *required* to actually know all the laws, rather than just follow them, there would be a revolution tomorrow.