10-11-07 A-4383-06T5
The Contractors' Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 to -
152, includes provisions under which knowingly engaging in the
business of making or selling home improvements without having
registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs is a fourth
degree crime. Although the Act states that "a person who
knowingly violates any of the provisions of this act is guilty
of a crime of the fourth degree," the underlined phrase does not
mean that the State must prove defendant knew about the Act and
its provisions. In short, when used in a statute, the
underlined phrase does not make knowledge of the law an element
of the crime.
