US vs. Penalosa

Facts:Marcosa Penalosa was convicted in the lower court for violation of the law that prohibits a minor from contracting marriage without the consent of his or her parents or of the persons who for such purpose stand in their stead. In the said case, it was seen that Marcosa was still a minor when she contracted the said marriage, and lacking consent of her parents or those provided by law, she was guilty of the crime charged against her. In her defense, it was raised that at the time she contracted the marriage, she firmly believed that she was born on 1879 and was already of age, a statement that she was lead to believe by her parents ever since she was a child. mistake of fact

Issue:Whether or not Marcosa is liable for the violation of the said penal provision.

Held:The defendant has stated that she believed that she was born in 1879; that so her parents had given her to understand ever since her tenderest age; that she had not asked them concerning her age because her father had given her to so understand since her childhood. Thus, it suffices to demonstrate that the defendant acted under a mistake of fact, and in conformity with the principle laid down in this opinion he has not been guilty of a violation of article 475 in connection with article 13, No. 3, nor in any other manner.