People v. Bray, 52 Cal.App. 3d 494 (1975) p268.

In 1969 D plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact in Kansas. He was sentence to two years probation which he completed. Later he moved to California where he held several different jobs. On different job applications asking whether he had ever been convicted of a felony he wrote conflicting things. Basically he did not know if his probation in Kansas was considered conviction of a felony.

D appeals following a jury conviction on two counts of being a felon in possession of a concealable firearm. D contends the trial courts should have instructed the jury that ignorance or mistake of fact is a defense to the crime.

Is ignorance or mistake of fact is a defense to the crime. Prosecutor must prove he was convicted of a felony in the past in order to prove a felon in possession of a concealable firearm. First must prove if D had knowledge of his felony status.

Because D did not know if the crime he had committed was a felony, and because even the prosecution had difficulty determining if the offense was a felony in Kansas, the requested instructions on mistakes or ignorance of fact and knowledge of the facts which make the act unlawful should have been given.

Even the prosecutor had difficulty in determining if the crime was a felony. Cannot expect the layman D to know its status.