Here’s some good news for a change, the court of appeals ruled that carrying a pocket knife at school is not a felony:
Having a pocketknife at school is grounds for expulsion but the Minnesota Court of Appeals said Monday that it isn’t a felony if there’s no proof of it being used as a weapon.
The court’s ruling reversed a conviction against a teenager from Willmar, Minn., rejecting arguments by the Kandiyohi County Attorney that the teen’s dark-handled pocketknife with a 3 1/2-inch blade was a dangerous weapon, both by intended use and design.
Although I was say carrying a pocket knife isn’t even grounds for expulsion it sure as the Hell shouldn’t be a felony charge. The fact of the matter is a pocket knife is a tool which makes for a pretty shitty weapon.
When I was in high school I carried a pocket knife every day. Why? For the same reason I still carry one with me every day, it’s an extremely useful tool. I would say I whip out my pocket knife at least once a day, oftentimes multiple times a day. In high school I took a lot of shop classes and my pocket knife was immensely useful (and our shop teachers weren’t dicks so they ignored the fact that I was violating the school’s weapon policy because that pocket knife hardly qualified as a weapon anymore than a utility knife).
In all honesty I believe the pen that I carried around in high school was be a far better weapon than the blade on my pocket knife. If I were to stab somebody with my pocket knife I can see the blade closing and cutting my fingers instead of going into another person.
I’m glad to see this ruling as nobody should be nailed with a felony for being prepared. Does anybody even remember when being prepared was saw as a virtue instead of something requiring a felony charge? The fact that this kid faced a felony weapon charge at all is sickening.