MN Court of Appeals Rules Pocketknife ‘Not A Weapon’

The Minnesota court of appeals said that while having a pocketknife is grounds for expulsion, it does not meet "weapon" criteria

Journalist Abby Simons of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is covering the recent ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on the case of a student who brought a pocketknife to school.

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 of Appeals’ ruling is a reversal of a conviction against a teenager from Willmar, Minn.  The court effectively rejected arguments by the Kandiyohi County Attorney that the teen’s pocketknife with a 3 1/2-inch blade was a dangerous weapon, both by intended use and design.  The student’s attorney, Pamela Marentette, pointed out that since the opinion is unpublished, it’s unlikely to set a precedent because the order was based on facts unique to her client’s case. She said that the order will not influence the school’s policies.

The student, a 16-year-old boy identified as S.M.L., was caught with the knife in February 2010 after a school resource officer and assistant principal at Willmar High School received a tip that he had brought drugs to school. They pulled him from class and he turned over marijuana and a pipe. When asked whether he had “anything else that he shouldn’t have,” the student said he had a pocketknife in his jacket pocket, a violation of school rules.

Asked whether he brought the knife to school for protection, the student said “no” but that “it didn’t hurt.” The school expelled the student for a year. He was charged as a juvenile with felony possession of a dangerous weapon on school property and three petty drug and tobacco misdemeanors. The student, now 18, pleaded guilty and was placed on probation.

Judge Ross wrote in his ruling that a pocketknife is different than knives commonly understood to be weapons, such as a bayonet, butterfly knife or a dagger.  Instead, he reasoned, it’s routinely available as a sporting good by vendors not commonly associated with dangerous weapons.  It is unclear whether Kandiyohi County will appeal the decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court.