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Title: Is Baltimore Prosecutor Wrong About the Legality of Freddie Gray's Knife?
Source: johncardillo.com/blog
URL Source: http://www.johncardillo.com/blog/is ... egality-of-freddie-grays-knife
Published: May 2, 2015
Author: John Cardillo
Post Date: 2015-05-02 23:29:27 by Gatlin
Keywords: None
Views: 12060
Comments: 31

Did State's Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby make a grave prosecutorial error in declaring Freddie Gray's knife legal and the actions of Baltimore police improper? According to the Baltimore Sun, Mosby declared the knife legal because it was not a switchblade as specified by Maryland statute. As a result, Mosby claims the officers failed to establish probable cause for the arrest thereby acting illegally.

But is the inexperienced prosecutor with only four months on the job, and no murder or high profile cases under her belt correct?

It appears that is a matter of much debate, and will be a key element in the defense of the police officers.

Officer Garret E. Miller, one of the officers being prosecuted charged Gray with the switchblade offense and wrote this in the charging document, "the knife was recovered by this officer and found to be a spring assisted, one hand operated knife."

Article continues here >

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#1. To: All (#0)

Freddie Gray’s Knife – Why is Prosecutor Claiming Unlawful Arrest?

A new talking point claiming that Freddie Gray’s original arrest was unlawful has arisen, propelled by the claim yesterday by Prosecutor Mosby that the knife seized from Gray by police was legal to possess in Maryland.

As reported by the New York Times:

Ms. Mosby faulted the police conduct at every turn. The officers who arrested him “failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray’s arrest, as no crime had been committed,” she said, describing the arrest as illegal. Officers accused him of possession of a switchblade, but Ms. Mosby said, “The knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law.

These statements are remarkably insensible coming from someone who has attained the position of state prosecutor.

Mosby Issue #1: Spring-Assisted Knives Almost Certainly ARE Illegal Under MD Law

First, it raises a question of whether Mosby is simply facially incorrect in claiming that Gray’s knife is legal. It has been described in news reports as “spring-assisted.” If that description is explicitly false and there was no spring assist mechanism, then it is likely that Gray’s knife was not unlawful.

If, however, it was spring-assisted than it certainly seems it would be unlawful under Maryland law.

The Criminal Code of Maryland, §4-105, defines a “switchblade knife” as:

(1) a knife or penknife having a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife.

The way a spring-assisted knife mechanism works is that a spring in the handle of the knife takes over the opening of the blade after the blade has been opened a small amount by pressure applied to the blade by the users fingers. Thus, the statutory definition would arguablly apply to spring- assisted knives.

Clearly, if a spring-assisted knife falls within the statutory prohibition, and it has been widely reported Gray’s knife was spring-assisted, possession of this unlawful knife would provide probable cause for Gray’s arrest.

It is notable that Mosby has yet to address this issue of the precise mechanism of Gray’s knife. This is an odd oversight, given that this issue would likely be determinative of her claim that the knife was not unlawful.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-02   23:44:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Gatlin (#0)

"the knife was recovered by this officer and found to be a spring assisted, one hand operated knife."

So... it's NOT a switchblade.

The arrest was illegal. They should have let him go... and saved face. But egos wouldn't let that happen... and I hope the price of that ego was worth the liability suit your city is gonna pay.

Here is what I told each and every one of my subordinates. It ain't worth, EVER, making one thin or weak arrest. The defendant will beat it in court, make you look stupid AND learn that he can beat the police and that instills a greater desire for them to continue to break the law. SO, let them go if you pull the fish in and find you have shit... a person like Freddie Gray will be back in your radar within a month... WITH SOMETHING SOLID.... learn to pick and choose your battles wisely.

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy

GrandIsland  posted on  2015-05-03   0:03:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: GrandIsland (#2) (Edited)

So... it's NOT a switchblade.

I thought it was not.

Then I read the info contained in the link in Post #1.

You go the the link in Post #1 and read their law....tell me what you think.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   0:08:41 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: GrandIsland (#2)

Any assisted opening knife is now considered a switchblaade. Many new knifees now can be flicked open with your thumb by a knob on the side of the blade. What they'd consider legal would be a knife with the notch on the top of the blade that requires two hands to open.

Logsplitter  posted on  2015-05-03   0:13:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Logsplitter, GrandIsland (#4)

Any assisted opening knife is now considered a switchblaade.

You may want to check on that.

When you do, you will find that knife laws vary wildly by state. Knives like switchblades, spring-assisted knives, butterfly knives and others are legal in some states and illegal in others.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   0:18:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Gatlin (#5)

I concider a switchblade to be s knife that opens solely by the push of a button that activates a spring that opens the blade as the only force that opens a blade.

A spring assisted knife is not a switchblade. It's a bullshit thin arrest.

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy

GrandIsland  posted on  2015-05-03   0:51:28 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: GrandIsland (#6)

....opens solely by the push of a button that activates a spring that opens the blade....A spring assisted knife is not a switchblade.

That is my personal definition also.

But I can read the Maryland law to be otherwise.

Therefore, I find the Maryland law confusing.

I guess it will be decided at the trial.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   0:57:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: Gatlin (#7)

Maryland uses the federal definition. A switchblade has a button on the HANDLE... a spring assisted knife normally has a button on the blade.

The arrest was not legal.

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy

GrandIsland  posted on  2015-05-03   1:12:01 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: GrandIsland (#8) (Edited)

I hate to beat this around, but I am very interested in it....bare with me, please.

I found this:

The City of Baltimore has adopted as an ordinance its City Code §59-22, which states in relevant part:

Switch-blade knives. (a) Possession or sale, etc., prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring. (emphasis added)

Thus (and again assuming Gray’s knife was spring-assisted, as widely reported), even if Mosby is correct (unlikely) that the knife was legal under Maryland state law, it would still arguably have been illegal under Baltimore code §59-22.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   2:29:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#10. To: Gatlin, GrandIsland (#9) (Edited)

The City of Baltimore has adopted as an ordinance its City Code §59-22, which states in relevant part:

I posted on the same law on another thread and included an image of the (alleged) arrest report naming Miller as the arresting officer in which this Baltimore Code statute was cited as the offense.

The actual text differs from Gatlin's post.

§ 59-22 Switch-blade knives.

(a) Possession or sale, etc., prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade, commonly known as a switch-blade knife.

(b) Penalties.

Any person violating the provisions of this section, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $500 or be imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both, in the discretion of the court.

(City Code, 1950, art. 24, §155; 1966, art. 19, §160; 1976/83, art. 19, §185.) (Ord. 44-057.)

Tooconservative  posted on  2015-05-03   5:17:45 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#11. To: GrandIsland (#8)

"Maryland uses the federal definition. A switchblade has a button on the HANDLE... a spring assisted knife normally has a button on the blade."

Yep. That's how knife manufacturers get around the letter of the law. But a spring-assisted knife is no less dangerous.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   10:14:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#12. To: TooConservative, Gatlin, GrandIsland (#10)

Good catch.

So the knife is legal under Maryland law, but illegal under Baltimore law. The arresting officer cited Baltimore law. Meaning the arrest was legal and Mosby was wrong.

Wow. What an idiot. In her rush to press charges, she didn't even take the time to review the law?

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   10:21:26 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#13. To: misterwhite, TooConservative, GrandIsland (#12)

Good catch.

So the knife is legal under Maryland law, but illegal under Baltimore law. The arresting officer cited Baltimore law. Meaning the arrest was legal and Mosby was wrong.

Wow. What an idiot. In her rush to press charges, she didn't even take the time to review the law?

That is the same conclusion I came to yesterday after a blog pointed me to the Baltimore law.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   10:35:58 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#14. To: misterwhite (#12)

So the knife is legal under Maryland law, but illegal under Baltimore law.

It does look pretty vague. Any sort of spring-assisted blade seems like it could be charged.

This is where the PD would likely issue a policy guideline on which are and are not "switchblades" and ongoing police training would include covering this topic. These policies do change over time, as we see with the seat-belt requirement for transport in a paddywagon. Until 3 days before the black guy got his neck broke, the policy was that seat belts were recommended for transport but not required, the Baltimore PD policy for some years. 3 days before the incident, a PD guideline circulated to tell officers that seat belts were now mandatory for transport.

Tooconservative  posted on  2015-05-03   10:40:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#15. To: Gatlin (#13)

That is the same conclusion I came to yesterday after a blog pointed me to the Baltimore law.

And, here after all this tyme, I was assured all you had to do with your life was place yourself squarely as the Kanary Klan Klub representative.

I am impressed with your almost serious BS.

buckeroo  posted on  2015-05-03   11:16:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#16. To: misterwhite (#11) (Edited)

Yep. That's how knife manufacturers get around the letter of the law. But a spring-assisted knife is no less dangerous.

Chainsaws are more dangerous. Should we make a letter of the law for them? Switchblade crime went out of popularity after Westside Story stopped showing in theaters.

The law is stupid, prevents nothing... and twisting the definition of a switchblade to fit other opening mechanisms, simply because they open as fast... is retarded.

The arrest was illegal... they should have let the shitbag loose... to either be arrested on a more serious charge down the road or to OD or be shot by his animal peers.

Paying out a huge sum of LIABILTY lawsuit because they didn't seatbelt a folding knife possessor AND then not getting medical help for a moron that self inflicts his own injuries in your custody IS JUST PLAIN IGNORANT.

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy

GrandIsland  posted on  2015-05-03   11:33:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#17. To: buckeroo (#15)

I am impressed with your almost serious BS.

I'm not impressed that you are impressed about this.
In fact, I really don't GAS.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   11:43:40 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#18. To: GrandIsland (#16)

"The arrest was illegal..."

It was against the law in Baltimore. Do you mean that in your opinion it shouldn't be against the law?

Meet me half way here. When you demonstrated that it was legal under Maryland law, I agreed, yet expressed my opinion against it. You can do the same.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   11:48:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#19. To: Gatlin (#17)

"I'm not impressed that you are impressed about this."

Hey, I'm impresssed that you're not impressed that he is impressed about this.

Ummm. About what again?

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   11:50:42 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#20. To: misterwhite (#19)

Yea, what was he impressed about?

A question that once gain proves that I never pay attention to anything he posts.

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   11:53:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#21. To: GrandIsland (#16)

"Chainsaws are more dangerous. Should we make a letter of the law for them?"

Only if you can start them with one hand.

And I would recommend you don't bring that chainsaw to my gunfight.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   11:54:15 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#22. To: Gatlin (#17)

I'm not impressed that you are impressed about this.

Why, tater? What is twirling around in your own mind beyond images of you and Yukon doing some sort of personal mounting stuff in an Alaskan SPA?

buckeroo  posted on  2015-05-03   11:58:04 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#23. To: TooConservative (#14)

"Any sort of spring-assisted blade seems like it could be charged."

In the city of Baltimore, yeah.

But they should be. I really don't see a difference (in function) between what we both recognize as a true switchblade and one of these other "spring assisted" or "gravity/inertia" knives.

Using only one hand and a flick of a thumb, a blade comes out and locks. I don't care what you call it, that kind of knife should be illegal to carry concealed on the street.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   12:04:12 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#24. To: buckeroo (#22) (Edited)

What is twirling around in your own mind beyond images ...

Certainly not images of you masturbating while you get excited when constantly fixated on the subject of homosexuality...as you apparently are doing now.

I will leave you to continue your fantasizing...

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   12:11:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#25. To: Gatlin (#24)

Grandma, your homosexuality fantasies are only rivaled by luberator.

Fred Mertz  posted on  2015-05-03   12:15:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#26. To: misterwhite (#21)

And I would recommend you don't bring that chainsaw to my gunfight.

That's my point. Switchblade crime is almost nonexistent... since most won't bring a knife to a gun fight.

So why restrict them.... and moreover, why stretch their meanings to restrict further?

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy

GrandIsland  posted on  2015-05-03   12:15:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#27. To: Fred Mertz (#25)

You are the one who is fixated on a suppository.

I have read that some guys who continue the fixation had moms who were obsessed with giving suppositories.

Don’t know if that is true or not....is it?

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   12:21:51 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#28. To: Fred Mertz, Gatlin (#25)

Hey Fred.

Gatlin's talkin' 'bout yo mama.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   12:29:38 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#29. To: misterwhite, Fred Mertz (#28)

Hey Fred.

Gatlin's talkin' 'bout yo mama.

ROTFLMAO at that one....

I was not making any direct reference....was I?

Fred seems lonely. He never posts much and usually only one liners.

I wonder if he has anyone to share his suppository fetish with?

Gatlin  posted on  2015-05-03   12:33:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#30. To: Gatlin (#29)

"He never posts much and usually only one liners."

Palmdale was like that.

misterwhite  posted on  2015-05-03   12:45:32 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#31. To: misterwhite (#28)

Butt out, Mensa Boy.

Fred Mertz  posted on  2015-05-03   12:50:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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