MN court overturns pocketknife conviction

[DaveJ]

This from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

"The state Supreme Court poked a hole Thursday in Minnesota's zero tolerance school weapons law, overturning an Anoka boy's felony conviction for getting caught with a pocketknife.
In a unanimous decision, the court said merely having a knife in school is not enough to warrant a conviction. Instead, justices ruled that prosecutors must prove some measure of criminal intent or that the boy knowingly brought the weapon to school.
The ruling is a blow to the 1993 law that broadened a ban on guns in school zones to include all weapons. The law made it a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 fine for anyone who "possesses, stores or keeps a dangerous weapon" or uses or brandishes a replica firearm on school property.
The objective was to create safer schools and make laws regarding weapon possession consistent.
But Justice Edward Stringer, writing for the court, said not all items classified as weapons should be treated equally.
"We observe that knives as common household utensils are clearly not inherently dangerous."

Sanity returning?

DaveJ

 

[anthony cheeseboro]

I am glad to see the judges rule that knives are common household tools. It would be good if knife safety and sharpening were taught in shop and home economics courses.

 

[R Dockrell]

That brings up a good point of possible future defence.
If you cann't possese a knife on school property how do they cut things in home ecc. classes. Does not the school itself supply "weapons" to the students in the form of scissors and knives.
Just my $.25 Canadian.

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Robert
Flat Land Knife Works
rdblad@telusplanet.net
http://members.tripod.com/knifeworks/index.html

 

[Pete Peterson]

One blow for the side of common sense, but don't let it lull you into complacency. The mind numbed liberal robots will not stand for common sense to prevail. I offer a quote from a sage old gent who lived to the ripe old age of 103. " Beware of fools when they gather in large numbers".

;D

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old pete

 

[richard rosvall]

Very happy and a little proud to see this happened in MN. Many, many people I know up here in N.E. MN. carry knives daily and none have ever needed them as a weapon.

 

[James Mattis]

Here's the court case:

In re the Welfare of C.R.M., child

The case has a lengthy discussion of the meanings of "know" and "intend" and the propriety of "strict liability" statutes.

A couple of interesting footnotes in the case...

Footnote [3] indicates that the minor in question had a school record that included assault and battery.

Footnote [13] quotes the Minnesota statute that defines a "dangerous weapon" that one should not bring to a school:

any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or great bodily harm, any combustible or flammable liquid or other device or instrumentality that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm, or any fire that is used to produce death or great bodily harm. [my emphasis]

My quick reading of that is that if the knife is normally marketed as a "fighting knife," or the owner said he carried a utility knife "for protection," or if he brandished the utility knife in a heated argument, it would be a "dangerous weapon."


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001

 

[Eric Isaacson]

Since I also live in Minnesota, I am glad to hear about this. Although the court ruled he can't be charged with a felony, they did not say the school couldn't impose their own punishment, ie expulsion.
The schools can still practice zero tolerance it is the courts that cannot.
Eric

 

[mike o]

Speaking of home Ec. I taught visual art , you ought to see the "weapons" in there. Actually in 31 years of teaching art the only time a student attacked another student in my classes was wit a sharp pencil. There are always plenty of razors, wood chisels, x-acto knives, carving knives of various kinds, teaching students to keep them sharp was part of my curriculum. Common sense, goes along way. I must admit in the last few years,I had trepidation about sending knives home with students to finish projects. It depended on the student as to wheather or not I trusted them.

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I can't think of anything 'cut' to say.
mike o
member;Buck Collectors Club
North Star Blade Collectors

 

[Esav Benyamin]

R Dockrell wrote: "If you cann't possese a knife on school property how do they cut things in home ecc. classes. Does not the school itself supply "weapons" to the students in the form of scissors and knives."

I remember reading about someone who complained when he was hassled at an airline check-in because of a tiny pocketknife, when the airline itself supplied much larger blades on the metal utensils that came with dinner on the flight.

Frightened people do stupid things. Elect calm legislators!

 

[CJ Buck]

This is very reassuring. I am going to send this to Jan at AKTI to post onto the website.

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CJ Buck
Buck Knives, Inc.
AKTI Member #PR00003