People v. Herrera

Because the Penal Law definition of a gravity knife precludes any possibility of identifying such a knife by simply looking at it, much less by viewing just the metal clip to which it is attached, I must respectfully dissent. Penal Law § 265.00 (5) defines a gravity knife as any knife with “a blade which is released from the handle ... by the force of gravity [and] which, when released, is locked in place.” Thus, it is beyond cavil that the only way to distinguish an illegal gravity knife from a legal folding knife is by testing such a knife as to its dual-action operation. Neither training…