State v. Robert Witham

*99Skoglund, J.

¶ 1. This appeal raises a narrow, but novel, issue: whether offenders previously convicted of home improvement fraud can be found guilty under the same statute if they subsequently perform home improvement activities but claim lack of knowledge of the statutory obligation to notify the Attorney General and file a surety. Defendant argued that the statute’s notice and surety section necessarily includes a scienter element. The State asserted that the section should be read without a fault element. The trial court held that the notice and surety section delineates a strict liability…