The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the Swiss Army knife did not constitute a "dirk or dagger" as that term is defined in the penal code. The California Supreme Court granted review and affirms the Court of Appeal's decision.
California's penal code criminalizes the possession of innumerable items that are, or resemble, archaic weapons . Laughably, the statutory language often prefaces these items with the phrase, "commonly known as". For example, it is a felony to possess these "commonly known" items: shobi-zue, sandbag, slungshot, sandclub, sap, blackjack, billy, shuriken, nunchaku, dirks, and daggers. I assume these laws were passed by our learned legislature in response to the public outcry following a mass barrage of killings by shobi-zue and blackjack.
These laws become more burlesque when the legislature defines these items and California's appellate courts interpret these definitions. If you keep a baseball bat behind your door for self defense, you are possessing a "billy" a felony for which you can go away for three years. When a young man who lives in a bad part of town tells a policeman that he would, if necessary, defend himself with his bike lock, that bike lock legally constitutes a "slungshot" and a felony conviction is legitimate (think I'm joking, read P v. Fannin 91 Cal. App. 4th 1399- Mr. Fannin got 16 months in prison for his bike lock).
Back to Mr. Castillolopez's conviction for carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. The legislature has defined "dirk or dagger" as follows.
As used in this part, “dirk” or “dagger” means a knife or other instrument with or without a handguard that is capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict great bodily injury or death. A nonlocking folding knife, a folding knife that is not prohibited by Section 21510, or a pocketknife is capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict great bodily injury or death only if the blade of the knife is exposed and locked into position.Pretty broad. An exacto knife? A sharpened pencil? A utility knife? A pair of scissors? You may be a felon and not know it.
Luckily for Castillolopez, his item, a folding knife, is given its own set of criteria. The blade must be exposed and locked into position. Since his blade was open, his fate rests on whether the blade was "locked into place". Like most camping knifes, this one operated using a spring. To open the blade, the spring tension had to be overcome; likewise for closing the knife. The policeman who testified at the trial admitted that if you tried to stab a firm object using the knife, the application of force would likely cause the blade to revert to the closed position.
The opinion holds the definition of"locked" as "immovable or moved only with greatest difficulty". From this, the opinion holds that a folding knife that lacks a design that prevents the accidental collapse of the knife while in use, it is not "locked". Since this knife had no such mechanism, it was not "locked", hence not a dirk or dagger.
The larger question looming is whether the Second Amendment applies to any (or most or all) of the weapons criminalized in California. Are they "arms" commonly used for self defense? The Constitution prevents California from sending me to prison for keeping a pistol in my home for defense. If I am unable to afford a gun does not the Constitution confer upon me a right to keep a baseball bat near by bedroom door instead? Not in the Golden State (read P v. Liscotti, 219 Cal.App.4th Supp. 1).
A B
C
Bonus Quiz: Possessing any of the above items is a felony in California. One is a shobi-zue, one is a slungshot, and one a shuriken. Do you know which is which?
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