K.S.A. » Chapter 21
Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 21-5204 (2026)

Culpable mental state; exclusions

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KS-LEGkslegislature.org JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

21-5204. Culpable mental state; exclusions. Proof of a culpable mental state does not require proof:

(a) Of knowledge of the existence or constitutionality of the statute under which the accused is prosecuted, or the scope or meaning of the terms used in that statute; or

(b) that the accused had knowledge of the age of a minor, even though age is a material element of the crime with which the accused is charged.

History: L. 2010, ch. 136, § 15; July 1, 2011.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 2014–2026 · leading case: State v. Jones, 492 P.3d 433 (Kan. 2021).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State v. Jones, 492 P.3d 433 (Kan. 2021). · cites it 2× “2d 292 (1992) (predecessor to K.S.A. 21-5204 "expressly bars lack of knowledge about a minor's age as a defense to the crimes charged").”
State v. Sinnard, 543 P.3d 525 (Kan. 2024). · cites it 2× “K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 21-5204 provides that proof of a mental culpable state does not require the accused to have knowledge of the age of a minor, even when the age is a material element of the crime charged.”
State v. Howard, 339 P.3d 809 (Kan. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 3× “Subsection (a) provides that a defendant’s ignorance or mistake of law is a defense to a crime if it negates the culpable mental state required for the crime, and subsection (b) lists four circumstances when a defendant has a valid mistake-of-law defense: “(a) A person’s…”
State v. Ross (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 3× “21-3202(2), now K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5204(b), and that the instruction eliminated a defense otherwise available to them.”
State v. Butler (Kan. 2026). · cites it 2× “We granted the State's request to file supplemental briefing addressing the impact of K.S.A. 21-5204(b) on this issue. Having considered the parties' submissions, we conclude that although nothing in K.”
Krebs v. State (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). “" K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5204(b) (formerly K.”
Cochran v. State (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). “Cochran argues that because he did not know his victim was 13 years old, he could not be guilty of rape. However, Cochran is incorrect, and his counsel was not required to raise the possibility of an ineffective defense.”
State v. Spackman (Kan. Ct. App. 2021). “3d 517 (2021) (court assumes rape to be strict liability crime in rejecting defendant's due process claim K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 21-5204 impermissibly dispenses with requirement defendants know or have reason to know victims have not consented).”
State v. Marmolejo (Kan. Ct. App. 2022). “" K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 21-5204(b); State v. Jones, 271 Kan.”
State v. Wiley (Kan. Ct. App. 2022). “" K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 21-5204(a). When Wiley became the subject of a PFA 11 order, he was presumed to know that he could not own a firearm while that order was in effect, whether or not he knew about the statute prohibiting such conduct.”
— K.S.A. § 21-5204(a) — 2 cases
State v. Howard, 339 P.3d 809 (Kan. Ct. App. 2014). “Subsection (a) provides that a defendant’s ignorance or mistake of law is a defense to a crime if it negates the culpable mental state required for the crime, and subsection (b) lists four circumstances when a defendant has a valid mistake-of-law defense: “(a) A person’s…”
State v. Wiley (Kan. Ct. App. 2022). “" K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 21-5204(a). When Wiley became the subject of a PFA 11 order, he was presumed to know that he could not own a firearm while that order was in effect, whether or not he knew about the statute prohibiting such conduct.”
— K.S.A. § 21-5204(b) — 7 cases
State v. Jones, 492 P.3d 433 (Kan. 2021). “2d 292 (1992) (predecessor to K.S.A. 21-5204 "expressly bars lack of knowledge about a minor's age as a defense to the crimes charged").”
State v. Sinnard, 543 P.3d 525 (Kan. 2024). “K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 21-5204 provides that proof of a mental culpable state does not require the accused to have knowledge of the age of a minor, even when the age is a material element of the crime charged.”
State v. Ross (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). “21-3202(2), now K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5204(b), and that the instruction eliminated a defense otherwise available to them.”
State v. Butler (Kan. 2026). “We granted the State's request to file supplemental briefing addressing the impact of K.S.A. 21-5204(b) on this issue. Having considered the parties' submissions, we conclude that although nothing in K.”
Krebs v. State (Kan. Ct. App. 2020). “" K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 21-5204(b) (formerly K.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.