{"id":261,"date":"2026-04-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=261"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:00:00","slug":"people-v-hsiung-animal-rights-trespass-mistake-of-law-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=261","title":{"rendered":"People v. Hsiung \u2014 Animal Rights Activist’s Trespass Convictions Partially Reversed for Erroneous Limitation on Mistake of Law Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Case<\/dt>\n
People v. Hsiung<\/dd>\n
Court<\/dt>\n
1st District Court of Appeal<\/dd>\n
Date Decided<\/dt>\n
2026-04-30<\/dd>\n
Docket No.<\/dt>\n
A169697<\/dd>\n
Status<\/dt>\n
Reported \/ Citable<\/dd>\n
Topics<\/dt>\n
Trespass; specific intent; mistake of law defense; necessity defense; First Amendment; animal rights; open rescue; Direct Action Everywhere<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

Wayne Hansen Hsiung cofounded Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an animal rights network. Through DxE, Hsiung and other activists engaged in “open rescues,” entering private commercial poultry farms without permission to document animal conditions and remove animals deemed to need urgent veterinary care. The activists then publicly shared photographs and video footage to draw attention to the conditions.<\/p>\n

Hsiung was charged with multiple trespass-related offenses arising from two open rescue incidents in Sonoma County: at Sunrise Farms (a 800,000-hen egg farm) in May 2018 and at Reichardt Duck Farm in June 2019. The charges included conspiracy to commit trespass and misdemeanor trespass under different theories. Hsiung represented himself at trial.<\/p>\n

The trial court rejected Hsiung’s necessity defense as unavailable as a matter of law and limited his presentation of evidence about his good-faith belief that his actions were legally justified under necessity. The jury convicted Hsiung of conspiracy to commit trespass by refusing to leave private property, misdemeanor trespass by refusing to leave, and trespass with intent to interfere with a lawful business. Hsiung appealed, raising multiple challenges including necessity, mistake of law, First Amendment overbreadth, and prosecutorial misconduct.<\/p>\n

The Court’s Holding<\/h2>\n

The First District Court of Appeal, Division Five, in a partially published opinion, reversed Hsiung’s convictions for conspiracy to commit trespass by refusing to leave (count 1) and trespass with intent to interfere with a lawful business (count 4) and remanded those counts. The court affirmed Hsiung’s misdemeanor trespass conviction (count 2).<\/p>\n

The reversal rested on the trial court’s erroneous limitation of Hsiung’s mistake of law defense. Trespass with intent to interfere with a lawful business is a specific intent crime. For specific intent crimes, a defendant’s good-faith mistake of law about whether his conduct was legally justified can negate the required mental state. Hsiung was entitled to present evidence of his actual belief that his open-rescue activities were legally justified under the necessity doctrine, even if the trial court correctly determined that the necessity defense was not available as a matter of law. By limiting Hsiung’s evidence on this two-prong mistake of law theory, the trial court deprived him of a complete defense.<\/p>\n

The court rejected Hsiung’s other arguments. The trial court correctly determined that the necessity defense was legally unavailable for these particular trespass offenses; the activists had numerous lawful alternatives for addressing perceived animal welfare concerns. Penal Code section 31’s aiding and abetting framework, including its reach to those who promote criminal conduct, did not violate the First Amendment as applied. Section 602(o) (refusing to leave private property) is a permissible content-neutral regulation of trespass, not a content-based speech restriction. The court also rejected the prosecutorial misconduct claim related to Hsiung’s veganism and animal rights beliefs.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n