It’s a cliché that ignorance of the law does not excuse violations of it. If you break into someone’s home and steal their television, you won’t escape a jail sentence by claiming that you did not know that burglary is illegal. A bill that passed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, however, would change this rule — at least with respect to many crimes that target corporate executives.

The Criminal Code Improvement Act includes several tweaks to federal criminal law and procedure, including a federal standard governing the insanity defense and definitions to terms such as “crime of violence” or “petty offense.” Tucked within the bill, however, is a provision that could effectively immunize many high-ranking corporate executives from various laws prohibiting criminal conduct in areas ranging from pollution to consumer safety to financial fraud.

The issue is what’s known as “mens rea.” As a general rule, most crimes require the government to prove that a defendant acted with a certain state of mind in order for them to be convicted of a particular crime. A person who fatally shoots their neighbor with the intent to kill has committed murder. A […]