BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Mark Leno, Chair A
2009-2010 Regular Session B
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AB 714 (Feuer)
As Amended March 27, 2009
Hearing date: June 16, 2009
Penal Code
SM:br
COMPOSITE KNUCKLES
HISTORY
Source:Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office;
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Prior Legislation: SB 1162 (Maldonado) - Chap. 346, Stats. 2008
AB 2706 (Feuer) - 2008, vetoed
SB 1689 (Margett) - Ch. 208, Stats. 2002
Support: California District Attorneys Association; California
Peace Officers' Association; California Police Chiefs
Association; California State Sheriffs' Association;
Peace Officer Research Association of California;
Riverside Sheriffs' Association; Association for Los
Angeles Deputy Sheriffs; Alameda County Sheriff; Butte
County Sheriff; El Dorado County Sheriff; Fresno
County Sheriff; Glenn County Sheriff; Humboldt County
Sheriff; Mariposa County Sheriff; Mono County Sheriff;
Plumas County Sheriff
Opposition:None
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 78 - Noes 0
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AB 714 (Feuer)
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KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE POSSESSION, MANUFACTURE, IMPORTATION OR SALE OF
COMPOSITE KNUCKLES, AS DEFINED, BE A MISDEMEANOR, PUNISHABLE BY
UP TO SIX MONTHS IN JAIL, A FINE OF UP TO $1000, OR BOTH?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to make the possession,
manufacture, importation or sale of composite knuckles, as
defined, a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail,
a fine of up to $1000, or both.
Under existing law , any person who manufactures, imports, offers
or exposes for sale, or possesses a variety of items, such as a
cane gun, short-barreled shotgun, or "any metal knuckles," is
guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in the county jail
not exceeding one year, or imprisonment in the state prison (16
months, 2, or 3 years). (Penal Code 12020.)
Existing law defines "metal knuckles" to mean any device or
instrument made wholly or partially of metal which is worn for
purposes of offense or defense in or on the hand and which
either protects the wearer's hand while striking a blow or
increases the force of impact from the blow or injury to the
individual receiving the blow. The metal contained in the
device may help support the hand or fist, provide a shield to
protect it, or consist of projections or studs which would
contact the individual receiving a blow. (Penal Code 12029
(c)(7).)
Existing law provides that any person in this state who
commercially manufactures or causes to be commercially
manufactured, or who knowingly imports into the state for
commercial sale, keeps for commercial sale, or offers or exposes
for commercial sale, any hard plastic knuckles or hard wooden
knuckles, as defined, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code
12020.1.)
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AB 714 (Feuer)
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Existing law defines "hard plastic knuckles" or "hard wooden
knuckles" as any device or instrument made wholly or partially
of plastic or of wood, composite, or paper materials that is
not a metal knuckle, as defined, that is worn for purposes of
offense or defense in or on the hand, and that either protects
the wearer's hand while striking a blow or increases the force
of impact from the blow or injury to the individual receiving
the blow. The plastic, wood, composite or paper products
contained in the device may help support the hand or fist,
provide a shield to protect it, or consist of projections or
studs that would contact the individual receiving a blow.
(Penal Code 12020.1.)
Existing law provides that any person who commercially
manufactures or causes to be commercially manufactured, or who
knowingly imports into the state for commercial sale, keeps for
commercial sale, or offers or exposes for commercial sale, any
undetectable knife is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code
12001.1.)
This bill would recast the prohibitions on hard knuckles to
replace the term "hard plastic knuckles" with "composite
knuckles" and add possession to the existing prohibitions on
commercial manufacture, importation for commercial sale or
commercial sale of hard plastic, hard wooden or composite
knuckles. Possession of these hard wooden or composite knuckles
would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail,
a fine of up to $1000, or both.
This bill would define composite knuckles as any device or
instrument made wholly or partially of composite materials,
other than a medically prescribed prosthetic, that is not a
metal knuckle, as defined, that is worn in or on the hand for
purposes of offense or defense, and that either protects the
wearer's hand while striking a blow or increases the force of
impact from the blow or injury to the individual receiving the
blow. The composite materials contained in the device may help
support the hand or fist, provide a shield to protect it, or
consist of surface, edges, ridges, points, projections or studs
that would contact the individual receiving a blow.
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RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
California continues to face a severe prison overcrowding
crisis. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
currently has about 170,000 inmates under its jurisdiction. Due
to a lack of traditional housing space available, the department
houses roughly 15,000 inmates in gyms and dayrooms.
California's prison population has increased by 125% (an average
of 4% annually) over the past 20 years, growing from 76,000
inmates to 171,000 inmates, far outpacing the state's population
growth rate for the age cohort with the highest risk of
incarceration.<1>
In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against
CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population
pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On
February 9, 2009, the three-judge federal court panel issued a
tentative ruling that included the following conclusions with
respect to overcrowding:
No party contests that California's prisons are
overcrowded, however measured, and whether considered
in comparison to prisons in other states or jails
within this state. There are simply too many
prisoners for the existing capacity. The Governor,
the principal defendant, declared a state of emergency
in 2006 because of the "severe overcrowding" in
California's prisons, which has caused "substantial
risk to the health and safety of the men and women who
work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in
them." . . . A state appellate court upheld the
Governor's proclamation, holding that the evidence
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<1> "Between 1987 and 2007, California's population of ages 15
through 44 - the age cohort with the highest risk for
incarceration - grew by an average of less than 1% annually,
which is a pace much slower than the growth in prison
admissions." (2009-2010 Budget Analysis Series, Judicial and
Criminal Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (January 30,
2009).)
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supported the existence of conditions of "extreme
peril to the safety of persons and property."
(citation omitted) The Governor's declaration of the
state of emergency remains in effect to this day.
. . . the evidence is compelling that there is no
relief other than a prisoner release order that will
remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions.
. . .
Although the evidence may be less than perfectly
clear, it appears to the Court that in order to
alleviate the constitutional violations California's
inmate population must be reduced to at most 120% to
145% of design capacity, with some institutions or
clinical programs at or below 100%. We caution the
parties, however, that these are not firm figures and
that the Court reserves the right - until its final
ruling - to determine that a higher or lower figure is
appropriate in general or in particular types of
facilities.
. . .
Under the PLRA, any prisoner release order that we
issue will be narrowly drawn, extend no further than
necessary to correct the violation of constitutional
rights, and be the least intrusive means necessary to
correct the violation of those rights. For this
reason, it is our present intention to adopt an order
requiring the State to develop a plan to reduce the
prison population to 120% or 145% of the prison's
design capacity (or somewhere in between) within a
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period of two or three years.<2>
The final outcome of the panel's tentative decision, as well as
any appeal that may be in response to the panel's final
decision, is unknown at the time of this writing.
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis outlined above.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
The current language contained within Penal Code
Section 12020.1 is insufficient to protect law
enforcement and other public safety officers from
knuckles weapons that are constructed from composite
materials. Existing law prohibits the commercial
manufacturing, importation into the state for
commercial sale, keeping for commercial sale, or
offering or exposing for commercial sale of plastic
knuckles, but allows for the lawful possession of
these weapons. These weapons are even more dangerous
than their metal or brass counterparts because they
are undetectable in metal detectors, creating the
potential for these weapons to be smuggled onto
airplanes, into courthouses and other public
buildings, and into prisons. This bill will close the
loophole that allows these dangerous weapons to pose a
threat to law enforcement officers and the general
public.
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<2> Three Judge Court Tentative Ruling, Coleman v.
Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States
District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the
Northern District of California United States District Court
composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28
United States Code (Feb. 9, 2009).
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2. Effect of This Bill
Currently, to possess or sell metal knuckles is punishable as a
felony or misdemeanor. (Penal Code 12020 (a)(1).) In 2002,
SB 1689 (Margett), Chapter 208, Statutes of 2002, was enacted,
which imposed misdemeanor penalties for commercial sales or
importation of hard plastic knuckles. (Penal Code 12020.1.)
Last year AB 1162 (Maldonado), Chapter 346, Statutes of 2008,
was enacted which added "hard wooden knuckles" to the
prohibition on commercial manufacture, sales and importation of
hard plastic knuckles. "Hard wooden knuckles" are defined as
made wholly or partially of "wood, composite or paper
materials." (Penal Code 12020.1.)
This bill would amend Penal Code Section 12020.1 to delete
reference to hard plastic knuckles and instead provide that
possession , commercial manufacture, importation for commercial
sale or commercial sale of composite knuckles would be a
misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of
up to $1000, or both.
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The first question this bill raises is to what extent composite
knuckles, as defined under this bill, are already prohibited
under existing law. Existing law defines "hard plastic
knuckles" or "hard wooden knuckles" as
any device or instrument made wholly or partially of
plastic or of wood, composite, or paper materials
that is not a metal knuckle as defined in paragraph
(7) of subdivision (c) of Section 12020, that is
worn for purposes of offense or defense in or on the
hand, and that either protects the wearer's hand
while striking a blow or increases the force of
impact from the blow or injury to the individual
receiving the blow. The plastic, wood, composite or
paper products contained in the device may help
support the hand or fist, provide a shield to
protect it, or consist of projections or studs that
would contact the individual receiving a blow.
(Penal Code 12020.1.)
Current law outlaws commercial manufacture or sale, but not
possession, of composite knuckles. Existing law with respect to
hard plastic, hard wooden or composite knuckles reflects an
approach the Legislature has taken with items that were legal up
to a certain date and then made illegal for some purposes in
California. This is the same approach the Legislature has taken
with respect to undetectable knives. (Penal Code 12001.1.)
That is, by outlawing the commercial manufacture, importation or
sale the law aims at preventing future widespread commercial
sale of such items. At the same time, to avoid making criminals
of otherwise law-abiding citizens who lawfully possessed the
items prior to law's passage or who subsequently bought such an
item at a garage sale or other non-commercial sale, the
prohibition does not extend to the non-commercial sale or mere
possession of such items. Of course, if any such item is used
in a crime, such as battery or robbery, such use would still
result in the offender being guilty of a crime.
Proponents of this bill argue that these composite knuckles are
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a newly developed product and therefore it is unlikely that very
many law-abiding citizens would have these in their possession
and be made into criminals by outlawing possession of this item
at this time. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department states a
particular concern regarding these knuckles:
The composite knuckles are as strong as traditional
brass knuckles and cause an equal or greater amount of
damage when used to attack another person. However;
unlike metal or brass knuckles, composite knuckles are
undetectable by metal detectors. Because composite
knuckles are undetectable by metal detectors, there is
a fear that these weapons can easily be smuggled into
secure areas such as jails, courthouses, airports and
government buildings.
An identical version of this bill, AB 2706 (Feuer), was approved
by this Committee last year and was subsequently vetoed. The
Governor's veto message stated:
The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State
Budget has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to
my desk at the end of the year's legislative session.
Given the delay, I am only signing bills that are the
highest priority for California. This bill does not
meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time.
SHOULD POSSESSION OF THIS WEAPON BE A CRIME?
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