The Legality of assisted- opening Knives - Knife Depot "Spring assisted Knives" - are they illegal in California?
I lived in New York for a while, first upstate and then down in the city.I resigned myself to the fact that I should never carry a knife outside of my pocket.This is why.
The state's highest court upheld the conviction of a man who had an assisted opening knife under the theory that it was an illegal switchblade.
Several courts agree that a spring-assisted knife was a switchblade.We should try to follow the logic.
Steven Berrezueta was arrested in the subway after an officer noticed a knife in his pants pocket while he was on his way to work.
He bought the knife off the internet and used it in his job in the mailroom.I think it was a cheap knife.I think they mean flipper tab, but there is talk of a button.Not sure about that one.
I was able to see the entire clip and the head of the knife from the public place where the defendants were standing.
I took the knife from the man.The person is not a law enforcement personnel and can't carry a knife.
I know that the knife is a switchblade knife, based on my training and experience as a police officer, and that when I applied hand pressure to the blade, it swung open automatically.
Any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife is called a switchblade knife.
The wording is simple and clear.Check out our article to learn more about the difference between a switchblade and assisted- opening knife.
The officer who arrested Berrezueta often said that the button was attached to the blade.He said that the button that opens the knife was on the blade.
The handle and blade are not the same according to Judge Jenny Rivera.
At the trial, the arresting officer testified that the spring mechanism of the knife was in the blade.
The Penal Law definition of a switchblade is a knife whose blade opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle.No amount of legal finessing can change the fact that a knife's blade and handle are two different entities.
Rivera's dissent was thorough and analytical.It considers every aspect of the case and is thoughtful and reasoned.The majority opinion was only a paragraph long and read like they didn't understand the case.
Tracy Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0, is the author of NY Appeals Court in 2009.
New York supports a broad interpretation of a switchblade.The ruling could have larger ramifications.
The Court redefined what a knife's handle is, essentially eliminating the difference between the handle and blade, while ignoring the fundamental difference in how the two types of knives operate.
It creates a trap for knife owners who wouldn't consider an assisted- opening folder to be a switchblade if they were familiar with plain wording because nobody in the real world would interpret that statute in that way.
The knife advocacy organization is currently taking on the gravity laws of New York City, but even if they win that case, this broad interpretation puts countless owners of legal assisted-openers across the state at risk for prosecution.
If you are caught with a spring-assisted knife in New York, you could be arrested and jailed.
The only thing you should carry in the state is a small slipjoint that is inside your pocket.Depending on the arresting officer, you could be at risk.
All sides of the political spectrum want these laws clarified.The only people who want these laws in effect are law enforcement officials who use them to arrest people of color.
Any knife with a spring is a switchblade in NYC.If the detent isn't stout enough to resist "inertia snap" opening, you should never go there.There are too many NY cops who like to screw up peoples lives over things like carrying a pocket knife or selling cigarettes.
Most NYC cops are too afraid to confront actual criminals because they might be shot, stabbed, or beaten to death.They prefer to harass innocent civilians.They believe that no one has a right to self defense by carrying a weapon.If the NYPD is cowardice, incompetence, and overall stupidity, I will continue to carry my edc in NYC.The judges who voted in the majority of the case are all hand-wringing, panty-waist morons, and I hope they get stabbed, shot, or beaten to death.They probably all have concealed carry permits of their own.Elitist scum!
Considering how many cops have died protecting innocents, that is very disrespectful.I know of many people who carry and/or own pocket knives, including my grandfather who has a collection of over 20 and my father who also has quite a few.Any pocket knife that has a blade under 4 inches is legal in NYC.
It is too harsh to call cops cowardice, but it is true that they have been arresting people through a broad and potentially illegal interpretation of the law.People are getting felonies and jail time in the city because of small manual folders.
The individual was arrested in the subway with a switchblade.knife is not allowed in the NYC subway system.I was called out on my pocket clipped HK switchblade with a hidden mechanism.They were trying to flick it out to see if it was a gravity knife.I told them that gravity doesn't work if they have to use their own energy to flick it.That's right.They didn't know the switch mechanism, so they told me to hide it, and no knife is allowed in the subway.They agreed that I was justified in carrying it.