In re Jorge M.
Supreme Court of California
4 P.3d 297 (2000)
Jorge M. (defendant), a minor on probation for a drug offense, was found during a probation home inspection with an assault rifle in the area where he kept his belongings; he was charged with possession of an assault weapon under a statute criminalizing certain weapons without specifying any mental-state element. The juvenile court adjudicated Jorge a ward, but the court of appeal reversed, holding the statute implicitly required actual knowledge of the weapon's illegal characteristics and that the evidence didn't establish Jorge had that knowledge; the state's attorney general sought review.
Whether a criminal statute that does not explicitly state a mens rea element may nevertheless require such an element, depending upon the statute's purpose, legislative history, statutory context, and other factors.