Brand new case law in IL

R.W.Clark

R.W.Clark

Joined
Apr 30, 2001
Messages
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I am currently sitting in the St.Louis airport waiting for my flight back to Los Angeles.

I was called to give testimony before the 8th Circuit Court in Quincy IL.

The case was a switchblade violation and the knife was a Kershaw 1660vibe ( Rainbow Leek).

The Chief Circuit Judge aggred with me and, forthe first time in IL history, ruled that assisted opening knives DO NOT violate IL law.

The case is People V Cox. Don't go looking cfor the ruling just yet, it is just a little over 24 hrs old.

The Quincy Chief of Police did "promise" me that he was going straight to the IL legislature to get a new law passes to ban them. I wished him the best of luck and assured him he would need all the luck he could get.

So thats that, just thought you guys would like the heads up.

Later
 
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Great Job !!!!! Can I ask what the basis was to decide it was not a switchblade?????
 
The Judge ruled that it simply did not meet the standard of law.

It did not open automatically, but was a manual action.

It did not open by the means of a button lever or spring in the handle.

The arresting officers argued that dispite its not meeting the actual standards of the law that because is was fast to open that it should be a switchblade under the "spirit" of the law.

The judge stated that the courts were to rule on the law itself and not read into a law any "spirit" that may or may not be there. The statute had a very specified diffenition of switchblade and this simply did not meet that definition.
 
Good to hear that was how the judge viewed the law. At least he was not willing to bend the law unjustly in favor of the officer. Was the weapons charge the single charge ? I only ask because it would follow that the judge would be more willing to view the merits of your aguement when the weapon was not recovered from a robbery or murder. It should not matter but it often does.....
 
It was not the only charge, there were several others. But it was the only Felony, a class III felony at that. Cox was not what you might call an "All-American" type.

The Judge was extremely fair considering he stated that it was his opinion that "weapons such as these do not belong on our streets", but he ruled on the law alone and left his personal opinions at home.
 
Now that's a good judge.


Though, I do think in certain situations you have to bring your morals with you, but that's just me.


Anyways, good luck with it all!


P.S.: How'd you get into this situation?
 
I have been working as an expert witness in the areas of knife design, construction, manufacturing and law for about two years. For this case I was hired directly by a, shall we say, interested third party to the case.
 
Just so you know, it's not considered precedential "case law" unless it's a reported case from an appellate court. Since you gave testimony, it almost certainly wouldn't have been an appellate court in which you appeared. Very few cases wind up reported appeals (I'm an appellate lawyer) - let us know if this one goes on appeal and winds up reported.
 
I cant believe that. A judge did something logical??? Wow.. Even though they are fast knives, they arent automatics. I still cant see any logic in the whole switchblade/assisted opening thing anyhow. A knifes a knife. period. If i want to stab you, ill open up this spyderco, ti lite, kershaw, or italian side opening pushbutton all the same, and stab you. what are we slicing here, microseconds worth of opening time differences? Makes about as much sense as all the drive by bayonettings the government stopped by outlawing bayo lugs on guns...

If you want to slice hairs like theyre doing, i could argue that automatics are SLIGHTLY less reliable than a good spyderco military. the more they get used, (read; played with) the more they wear. the more you wear em in your pocket, the dirtier and grimier they get, till one day, it may just not open when you want it to. (were not taking into consideration all the knife fanatics here, who q-tip and wd40 their folders religiously. were talkin non obsessive knife carriers here lol) AND, they most of the time arent as durable as a good manual folder, or even a fixed blade while youre at it. surely an otf isnt as durable as even the crappiest axis lock. this makes them less suitable for a good offensive weapon, than alll the other choices out there. so, by slicing hairs, i see that automatics are the least dangerous, out of all the classifications of knives...

then theres that (im not sure if it applies here, or if it was just in that certain state) law, that made the judges interpret the law literally, and not with any 'leeway' . and it boiled down to csc 1 indirectly thru adultery... they can interpret the law literally when they want to, and then just flip it around again, if it dont suit em. they slice hairs on 'how' the blade opens, when it benefits them, but they wont slice any hairs if it helps us out... i love the law makers/judges... life must be soo convenient for them. play a few rounds of golf with the right guy, and bam, youre set for life. must be nice...

Im really glad to see they left that kershaw alone. my kershaw blur is my main carry, and id be bloody pissed if they made it into a switchblade...
 
I like the decision.
I do NOT like the judge starting out with the premise that a knife with a 3 inch blade is a "weapon" that should not be allowed on the streets. In that regard, he seems to be in agreement with the police officer.
I would be interested in the circumstances in this case. Was the defendant displaying the knife or using it in a threatening manner? Was it found in the course of a routine search? Depending on the circumstances, it seems like the type of situation that should have been handled by confiscation and some kind of plea bargain to a different or lesser charge. Just wondering. It seems like a lot of trouble over a pocket knife, per se.
 
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