So the Supreme Court takes the word of the thief as to whether or not he knew the i.d. belonged to someone else?
....What a joke!
No, that is not what is happening.
My daughter found out that somebody in the midwest is using her Social Security Number. But evidently, the Social Security Administration KNOWS that it is not her.
The person using my daughter's number is using a different name. They are not attempting to use my daughter's identity. They are attempting to create a completely separate, different identity that uses the same number.
The Supreme Court is simply recognizing that it is two different things. And they are not "taking the word of the defendant". Rather, they are insisting that the burden of proof, even with respect to the intentions of a defendant, rests totally with the prosecution.
The real problem is that the government does not pursue the fraudulent identity crime when it is so widespread. It may someday cost my daughter something and the entire cost is attributable to government toleration of identity fraud and lack of prosecution.