MISSOURI REVISED STATUTES

Chapter 556
Preliminary Provisions (Criminal Code)

Burden of injecting the issue.
556.051. When the phrase "The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue" is used in the code, it means

(1) The issue referred to is not submitted to the trier of fact unless supported by evidence; and

(2) If the issue is submitted to the trier of fact any reasonable doubt on the issue requires a finding for the defendant on that issue.

Affirmative defense.
556.056. When the phrase "affirmative defense" is used in the code, it means

(1) The defense referred to is not submitted to the trier of fact unless supported by evidence; and

(2) If the defense is submitted to the trier of fact the defendant has the burden of persuasion that the defense is more probably true than not.


Chapter 562
General Principles of Liability

Voluntary act.
562.011. 1. A person is not guilty of an offense unless his liability is based on conduct which includes a voluntary act.

2. A "voluntary act" is

(1) A bodily movement performed while conscious as a result of effort or determination; or

(2) An omission to perform an act of which the actor is physically capable.

3. Possession is a voluntary act if the possessor knowingly procures or receives the thing possessed, or having acquired control of it was aware of his control for a sufficient time to have enabled him to dispose of it or terminate his control.

4. A person is not guilty of an offense based solely upon an omission to perform an act unless the law defining the offense expressly so provides, or a duty to perform the omitted act is otherwise imposed by law.

Culpable mental state.
562.016. 1. Except as provided in section 562.026, a person is not guilty of an offense unless he acts with a culpable mental state, that is, unless he acts purposely or knowingly or recklessly or with criminal negligence, as the statute defining the offense may require with respect to the conduct, the result thereof or the attendant circumstances which constitute the material elements of the crime.

2. A person "acts purposely", or with purpose, with respect to his conduct or to a result thereof when it is his conscious object to engage in that conduct or to cause that result.

3. A person "acts knowingly", or with knowledge,

(1) With respect to his conduct or to attendant circumstances when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that those circumstances exist; or

(2) With respect to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is practically certain to cause that result.

4. A person "acts recklessly" or is reckless when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

5. A person "acts with criminal negligence" or is criminally negligent when he fails to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or a result will follow, and such failure constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

Culpable mental state, application.
562.021. 1. If the definition of any offense prescribes a culpable mental state but does not specify the conduct, attendant circumstances or result to which it applies, the prescribed culpable mental state applies to each such material element.

2. If the definition of an offense prescribes a culpable mental state with regard to a particular element or elements of that offense, the prescribed culpable mental state shall be required only as to specified element or elements, and a culpable mental state shall not be required as to any other element of the offense.

3. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section and section 562.026, if the definition of any offense does not expressly prescribe a culpable mental state for any elements of the offense, a culpable mental state is nonetheless required and is established if a person acts purposely or knowingly; but reckless or criminally negligent acts do not establish such culpable mental state.

4. If the definition of an offense prescribes criminal negligence as the culpable mental state, it is also established if a person acts purposely or knowingly or recklessly. When recklessness suffices to establish a culpable mental state, it is also established if a person acts purposely or knowingly. When acting knowingly suffices to establish a culpable mental state, it is also established if a person acts purposely.

5. Knowledge that conduct constitutes an offense, or knowledge of the existence, meaning or application of the statute defining an offense is not an element of an offense unless the statute clearly so provides.

Culpable mental state, when not required.
562.026. A culpable mental state is not required

(1) If the offense is an infraction and no culpable mental state is prescribed by the statute defining the offense; or

(2) If the statute defining the offense clearly indicates a purpose to dispense with the requirement of any culpable mental state as to a specific element of the offense.

Ignorance and mistake.
562.031. 1. A person is not relieved of criminal liability for conduct because he engages in such conduct under a mistaken belief of fact or law unless such mistake negatives the existence of the mental state required by the offense.

2. A person is not relieved of criminal liability for conduct because he believes his conduct does not constitute an offense unless his belief is reasonable and

(1) The offense is defined by an administrative regulation or order which is not known to him and has not been published or otherwise made reasonably available to him, and he could not have acquired such knowledge by the exercise of due diligence pursuant to facts known to him; or

(2) He acts in reasonable reliance upon an official statement of the law, afterward determined to be invalid or erroneous, contained in

(a) A statute;

(b) An opinion or order of an appellate court;

(c) An official interpretation of the statute, regulation or order defining the offense made by a public official or agency legally authorized to interpret such statute, regulation or order.

3. The burden of injecting the issue of reasonable belief that conduct does not constitute an offense under subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection 2 is on the defendant.