BILL ANALYSIS SENATE COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Senator Milton Marks, Chair A 1995-96 Regular Session B 3 3 AB 3314 (Baldwin) 1 As amended May 14, 1996 4 Hearing date: June 18, 1996 Penal Code SAH:js SWITCHBLADE KNIVES - EXCEPTIONS HISTORY Source: Buck Knives, Inc. Prior Legislation: AB 202 - Chapter 355, Statutes of 1957 Support: American Cutlery Manufacturers Association; Benchmade Knife Co., Inc.; Gerber Legendary Blades; Bud Lang, Editor, Knives Illustrated; Spyderco; California Police Pistol Association. Opposition: California District Attorneys Association Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 68 - Noes 0 KEY ISSUE SHOULD A SPECIFIC EXCEPTION TO THE EXISTING PROHIBITION ON SWITCHBLADE KNIVES BE ADDED TO STATUTE TO PROVIDE THAT: a switchblade knife does not include a knife that is designed to open with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, unless the knife is concealed upon a person (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 2 with the intent to use the knife in an offensive manner? PURPOSE Existing law contains a misdemeanor penalty applicable to every person who possesses in the passenger's or driver's area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any other person a switchblade knife having a blade over two inches in length. (Penal Code Section 653k) A oswitchblade knifeo is a knife having the appearance of a pocketknife, and shall include a spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other similar type knife, the blade or blades of which are two or more inches long and which can be released automatically by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by any type of mechanism whatsoever. oPassenger's or driver's areao means that part of a motor vehicle which is designed to carry the driver and passengers, including any interior compartment or space therein. This bill specifies that a switchblade knife does not include a knife that is designed to open with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, unless the knife is concealed upon a person with the intent to use the knife in an offensive manner. The purpose of this bill is to specifically exempt from the statutory definition of prohibited switchblade knife a design of knife which may be opened using one hand using pressure on a thumb stud or hole in the blade. COMMENTS (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 3 1. Need for This Bill. According to the sponsor: oPenal Code Section 653k prohibits the possession, sale or transfer of a oswitchblade knife,o defined as a oknife the blade or blades of which are more than two-inches long and which can be released automatically by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or other mechanical device, or is released by the weight of the blade or by any type of mechanism whatsoever.o The terms oother mechanical deviceo and oany mechanism whatsoevero are overly broad in that they proscribe a variety of knives which are designed and used for peaceful utilitarian purposes. oOne type of knife falling within the oany mechanism whatsoevero language is a knife designed to be opened with one hand via pressure on a thumb-stud or hole in the blade. Such knives are routinely used for hunting, fishing, climbing or any other activity where a knife is necessary, but two handed use is not possible or desirable. Owners of such knives should not be subject to potential arbitrary enforcement of the overly broad language currently contained in Section 653k.o 2. Does Existing Law Apply to Types of Knives the Sponsor Mentions? The existing statutory prohibition on switchblade knives was enacted in 1957. Technology moves on. One case, which provides background about the 1957 statute, interprets the Section 653k language broadly and finds two types of knives to be prohibited even though they may not be what most people would think is a switchblade knife design. The California Court of Appeals, 1st District, decided in People v. Quattrone, 260 Cal. Rptr. 44 (1989) that butterfly knives and retracting sheath knives are prohibited switchblades and (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 4 describes the knives as follows: oThe butterfly knife sold by defendant has a fixed blade over two inches long. When not in use, a two-part handle is folded around the blade as a sheath and is secured by a latch at the base of the knife. To open, the latch is released, allowing the two halves of the sheath to swing down on pivots to form a handle exposing the blade. The handle may be secured manually or closed with the latch. oThe Tekna sheath-retracting knife has a fixed blade longer than two inches. A two-part plastic sheath protects the blade. The sheath is spring activated and retracts into the handle when the user pushes a button at the bottom of the handle.o The Court mentions the following history of the statute: oPenal Code section 653k defines an illegal switchblade as oa spring-blade knife, snap-blade knife, gravity knife or any other similar type knife, [having a blade or blades] which can be released automatically . . . by any type of mechanism whatsoever.o The list of prohibited knives is not exhaustive. This language is intended to cover different types of knives which operate similarly to those expressly listed. Such an interpretation supports the People's contention that the term oreleased automaticallyo encompasses not only knives in which the blade is quickly released from the handle, but also the subject knives where the blade is oset free from constraint in a spontaneous mannero by the retraction or removal of the sheath. This would include both the butterfly and Tekna knives... o...Our conclusion is supported by the legislative history of Penal Code Section 653k. The original bill became increasingly broader in scope as it went through successive drafts and when it was amended. As originally proposed, the statute proscribed switchblade (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 5 knives with a blade three inches or longer, but only if carried concealed on a person. (Assem. Bill No. 202 (1957 Reg. Sess.) @ 1) In successive drafts, the bill was broadened to bar switchblades with two-inch blades (Assem. Amend. Bill No. 202 (1957 Reg. Sess.) Mar. 13, 1957), and to also prohibit the sale, offer for sale, and transfer of such a knife (Assem. Amend. Bill No. 202 (1957 Reg. Sess.) Mar. 18, 1957). It was adopted in this form in 1957 (Stats. 1957, Ch. 355, @ 1, p. 999). In 1959, the statute added the ogravity knifeo and expanded the mode of operation to include a oflip of the wristo and othe weight of the blade.o (Stats. 1959, Ch. 355, @ 1, p. 2278) The Legislature intended to broaden the scope of the statute to include within its provision all those types of knives which operate in a similar manner to the ones listed.o GIVEN THE DISCUSSION IN PEOPLE V. QUATTRONE, IS IT AT LEAST ARGUABLE THAT THE KINDS OF KNIVES WHICH WOULD BE EXEMPTED BY THIS BILL COULD, UNDER CURRENT LAW, BE INTERPRETED TO BE PROHIBITED SWITCHBLADES? IF SO, SHOULD THEY BE PROHIBITED? 3. Should the Knives Exempted by This Bill be Treated Differently Than Switchblades. If the knives exempted from the switchblade prohibition by this bill are arguably included in the existing switchblade definition, should they be exempted? The sponsor and supporters of this bill state that folding knives which have blades lengths greater than two inches which can be opened with one hand using a thumb tang or hole in the blade - and which olocko open to prevent injuries from folding closed during use - are currently sold and possessed in California and are used by not only sportsmen and women but are used by professionals and tradespeople, including firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and roofers. This bill contains both an exception to the existing switchblade prohibition and an exception to the exception: (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 6 oSwitchblade knifeo does not include a knife that is designed to open with one hand utilizing thumb pressure applied solely to the blade of the knife or a thumb stud attached to the blade, unless the knife is concealed upon a person with the intent to use the knife in an offensive manner. That means that the exempted knives are not switchblades, subject to a misdemeanor penalty, unless they are concealed with an intent to use them in an offensive manner, in which case they are switchblades and the misdemeanor penalty does apply. While the types of knives exempted by this bill may not pose an undue hazard, should the specific prohibition language in existing Section 653k be amended to add such ointent to useo conditions on what is otherwise a ban on oswitchbladeo knives? IF A KNIFE IS USED IN AN OFFENSIVE MANNER, WOULD THAT NOT ALREADY BE SUBJECT TO EXISTING PENAL CODE SECTIONS FOR UNLAWFUL USE OF A WEAPON OR CRIMES AGAINST ANOTHER PERSON? The sponsor has provided several sketchy anecdotal examples where a person has been cited for possessing an illegal oone-handedo knife. Some describe situations where no unlawful activity was occurring (o1/10/95 Sacramento, CA, dealer charged with switch-blade knife selling under 653ko); others describe situations where an altercation, speeding, or DUI was involved and persons where charged with 653k violations and in some cases Penal Code Section 12020 violations (see Comment #4). It is unclear if anyone was convicted for such an offense, although in the speeding case the person is described as having opaid a fine because he was afraid he would lose his caseo. There are no recent appellate court cases on this issue nor is any information beyond 8 short anecdotes available to indicate that law enforcement is incorrectly citing persons for Section 653k violations. (More) AB 3314 (Baldwin) Page 7 4. Another Applicable Penalty. Penal Code Section 12020 provides a misdemeanor/felony penalty for an enumerated list of dangerous weapons offenses. That penalty applies to any person who o...who carries concealed upon his or her person any dirk or daggero which is defined as oa 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.o That section does make an exception by providing that: oKnives carried in sheaths which are worn openly suspended from the waist of the wearer are not concealed within the meaningo of that section. It would appear that the Section 12020 felony penalty for dirks and daggers would apply - if a knife is open, ready to use, and concealed - when there is no need to prove intent to use such a weapon in a dangerous manner while it would only be a misdemeanor under this bill to conceal the exempted knife with the intent to use it in an offensive manner. At some point it may prove somewhat confusing to have a potential felony apply to dirks and daggers without any intent to use in an illegal manner and a misdemeanor penalty apply to a knife where there is the intent to use it in an offensive manner? It may also be confusing to determine if ooffensiveo means ounlawfulo? 5. Opposition to this bill. The California District Attorneys Association opposes this bill because: (More) oThe essence of the rule against switchblades isnot the mechanism used to open the knife, but the speed with which it can be deployed. A manufacturer could make a knife that can be flicked open with a bit of thumb pressure on the blade. This exception could easily distort the rule.o WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF A SWITCHBLADE KNIFE? THAT IT IS SPRING LOADED AND CAN BE OPENED WITH ONLY THE PUSH OF A BUTTON? THAT IT MAY BE OPENED WITH A HAND MOVEMENT IF THERE IS NO SPRING? THAT IT MAY BE OPENED WITH ONLY ONE HAND, REGARDLESS OF THE MECHANISM? SECTION 653k IS AN ABSOLUTE BAN FIRST ADOPTED IN 1957; WOULD IT BE THE CONTENTION OF THE C.D.A.A. THAT THE EXISTING KNIVES CURRENTLY BEING SOLD IN CALIFORNIA WHICH ARE INTENDED TO FALL WITHIN THE EXCEPTION CREATED IN THIS BILL ARE IN FACT BANNED AS SWITCHBLADES UNDER CURRENT LAW? 6. Conflict and Chaptering Concerns. SB 1715 (Marks) is a clean-up bill which makes several changes to the codes; it is currently in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety. It makes several oclean-upo changes to Penal Code Section 653k which have already been incorporated by Legislative Counsel in AB 2651. If AB 2651 moves on in the process, Section 653k could be dropped entirely from SB 1715 in order to avoid any chaptering problems. *************** (More)