WILLFULLY - Committed voluntarily
and purposely, with the specific intent to do something;
voluntarily and intentionally assisting or advising
another to do something that the person knows disobeys
or disregards the law. A person does not act "willfully"
if the person acts as a result of a good faith misunderstanding
of the requirements of the law.
Intent and motive should not be confused. Motive
is what prompts a person to act, while intent refers
to the state of mind with which the act is done.
So, if the acts constituting a crime were committed
by someone voluntarily as an intentional violation
of a known legal duty, that is, with specific intent
to do something the law forbids, then the element
of "willfulness" has been satisfied even
though the person may have believed that his conduct
was [religiously, politically or morally] required,
or that ultimate good would result from such conduct.
On the other hand, if there's a reasonable doubt
as to whether someone acted in good faith, sincerely
believing himself to be exempt by the law [e.g. from
the withholding of income taxes], then he did not
intentionally violate a known legal duty, that is,
he did not act "willfully".
