State v. Ramos

OPINION

BOSSON, Justice.

A jury convicted Aaron Ramos (Defendant) of the misdemeanor of violating an order of protection. Defendant appeals because he was refused a jury instruction that would have required the jury to find that he had “knowingly” violated the protection order. Our Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision not to give the “knowingly” instruction, noting the absence of any such word in the relevant statute and applying general principles of statutory construction. For the reasons that follow, we read the language and structure of the statute together with its…