MODEL PENAL CODE ANNOTATED
 

MODEL PENAL CODE

Section 2.12. De Minimis Infractions.

  The Court shall dismiss a prosecution if, having regard to the nature of the conduct charged to constitute an offense and the nature of the attendant circumstances, it finds that the defendant's conduct:

  (1) was within a customary license or tolerance, neither expressly negatived by the person whose interest was infringed nor inconsistent with the purpose of the law defining the offense;  or

  (2) did not actually cause or threaten the harm or evil sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense or did so only to an extent too trivial to warrant the condemnation of conviction;  or

  (3) presents such other extenuations that it cannot reasonably be regarded as envisaged by the legislature in forbidding the offense.

  The Court shall not dismiss a prosecution under Subsection (3) of this Section without filing a written statement of its reasons.