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DEFENDANT PROPERLY ACCUSED AND CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED POSSESSION OF A SWITCHBLADE, EXTENSIVE DISSENTING OPINION (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, over an extensive dissenting opinion by Judge Rivera, affirmed defendant’s conviction for attempted possession of a weapon, i.e., a switchblade. The dissent argued that the proof at the non-jury trial and the allegations in the accusatory instrument did not demonstrate the knife met the statutory definition of a switchblade:

From the dissent:  … [T]he narrow issue presented on this appeal is whether the knife described in the accusatory instrument and at trial meets the statutory description for a per se weapon, one which is outlawed regardless of the defendant’s reasons for possession. The majority holds that the accusatory instrument is jurisdictionally sound because the knife as described meets the statutory definition of a switchblade… . I disagree. Moreover, even if the majority were correct, the evidence at trial established that the knife in question was not a switchblade within the meaning of the Penal Law. People v Berrezueta, 2018 NY Slip Op 04032, CtApp 6-7-18

CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENDANT PROPERLY ACCUSED AND CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED POSSESSION OF A SWITCHBLADE, DISSENTING OPINION DISAGREED (CT APP))/SWITCHBLADES (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT PROPERLY ACCUSED AND CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED POSSESSION OF A SWITCHBLADE, DISSENTING OPINION DISAGREED (CT APP))

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