I lived in New York for a few years — first upstate and then down in the city. During this time, I resigned myself to the fact that I should never carry a knife outside a slipjoint concealed deep in my pocket. This is why:
On a ruling of 6-1, the state’s highest court upheld the conviction of a man who had an assisted-opening knife under the theory that it was an illegal switchblade.
How did not just one but several courts agree that a spring-assisted knife was a switchblade? Let’s try to follow the logic.
Facts About the Case
Let’s start with some details about the case.
Defendant Steven Berrezueta was on his way to work at the mailroom of an investment company when he was stopped and arrested in the subway after an officer noticed a knife protruding from his rear pants’ pocket.
It doesn’t say the type of knife except that it was a “United States Army-themed knife” that he bought off the internet for use in his job in the mailroom. I imagine it was a dirt cheap knife like this one. There is talk of a button, but I think they might mean flipper tab. Not too sure about that one.
So, Berrezueta was charged with carrying a switchblade among other things.
Here’s what the arresting officer alleged:
“I observed a knife clipped to the defendant’s rear right pants pocket so thatI could see the entire clip and the head of the knife protruding from his pocket while the defendant was standing in the mezzanine area in the transit facility at the above location, a public place.
I took a switchblade knife from the defendant’s rear right pants pocket. The defendant is not law enforcement personnel and could not produce a valid license or permit to carry such knife.
I know that the knife is in fact a switchblade knife based on my training and experience as a police officer and because, when I applied hand pressure to a spring-loaded portion of the blade of the knife protruding from the handleof the knife, the blade swung open automatically.”
Well, let’s look at what the law actually says.
Conflicting Definitions of a Switchblade
The New York Penal Code defines an illegal switchblade knife as follows:
“Switchblade knife” means any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife.
You may not agree with it, but the wording is plain and simple. (For a refresher on the difference between a switchblade and assisted-opening knife, check out our article.)
The officer who arrested Berrezueta testified conflicting information but often said that the button was attached to the blade. By his own words, the button that opens the knife was not in the handle but was on the blade.
The confusion between automatic knives and spring-assisted knives has led to unwarranted arrests
In a long and scathing dissenting opinion, Judge Jenny Rivera says that the handle and blade are two different things:
The accusatory instrument describes the knife found on defendant as having “a spring-loaded portion of the blade of the knife protruding from the handle of the knife” and at trial the arresting officer testified that the spring mechanism was “in the blade.”
Neither description comports with the Penal Law definition of a switchblade as a knife whose bladeopens automatically “by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in thehandle of the knife” (Penal Law § 265.00 [4]). A knife’s blade and handle are two different entities, and no amount of legal finessing can change that simple fact.
Rivera wrote a dissent that was analytical and thorough. It is thoughtful and reasoned and clearly considers every aspect of the case. The majority opinion upholding the conviction, on the other hand, is only a paragraph long and reads like they didn’t even understand the case.
NY Appeals Court in 2009 By Tracy Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27288655
Basically, the judges said that the evidence in the trial showed it was a switchblade… so it was.
What the Ruling Means
This continues New York’s support of a broad interpretation of a switchblade. The scary thing is that this ruling could have even larger ramifications.
Here’s more from Knife Rights:
In addition to completely redefining what a knife’s handle is, essentially eliminating the difference between the handle and the blade, the Court disregarded the fundamental difference in how the two types of knives operate – switchblades being automatic (an essential element of the definition) while assisted-openers are not.
Given that this confusion goes against clear historical precedent and that nobody in the real world is likely to interpret that statute in that manner, it creates a trap for all knife owners who would rationally never consider an assisted-opening folder to be a switchblade, especially if they were intimately familiar with plain wording of New York’s switchblade statue.
The knife advocacy organization is currently taking on the gravity laws of New York City, but even if they win that case, this broad interpretation puts countless owners of legal assisted-openers across the state at risk for prosecution.
This means that if you’re in the state of New York and are caught with a spring-assisted knife, you could risk arrest and jail time.
The only thing you should carry in the state is a small slipjoint that’s inside your pocket and not clipped to it. Even then, you could be at risk, depending on the arresting officer.
Pretty much all sides of the political spectrum want these laws removed or at least clarified. The only people who want these laws in effect are law enforcement officials who use them to arrest people of color and law-abiding citizens.
June 26, 2018 at 10:35 pm
So basically ANY knife with a spring is a “switchblade” in NYC. (another reason NEVER to go there) Same thing goes for flipper type blades too if the detent isn’t stout enough to resist “inertia snap” opening, as they call that a “gravity knife”. Too many NY cops seem to like to screw up peoples lives, (or outright END them) over trivial stuff like carrying a pocket knife or selling loose cigarettes.
June 27, 2018 at 3:32 am
That’s because most NYC cops are cowards who are too afraid to confront actual criminals, because they might be shot, stabbed, or beaten to death. They’d rather harass innocent civilians, who generally won’t resist. They also believe that nobody has a right to self defense by carrying any kind of potential “weapon”. I will continue to carry my EDC in NYC, specifically because if the NYPD’s cowardice, ineptitude, and overall stupidity. The judges who voted in the majority of this particular case are all hand-wringing, panty-waist morons, and I fondly hope they all get stabbed, shot, or beaten to death. But then, they probably all have concealed carry permits themselves, consistent with their gigantic hypocrisy! Elitist scum!
June 28, 2018 at 7:26 pm
Hear hear!
February 20, 2019 at 8:58 pm
That is very disrespectful considering how many cops have died protecting innocents. And as far as”nobody has the right of self defense” I know of many people that carry and/or own pocket knives including me and my grandfather, who has a collection of over 20 pocket knives and my father who also has quite a few. Any small, manual pocket knive is legal in NYC, as long as it has a blade under 4 inches
February 21, 2019 at 9:37 am
Calling cops cowards is way too harsh considering all they do, but it’s true cops have been arresting people through a broad and potentially illegal interpretation of the law. Even small manual folders are getting people felonies and jail time in the city.
November 16, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Tim, thank you so much for this great article. Super informative, great ending.
July 20, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Let’s see how this cops are all heros bullshit ages after Uvalde. Cops are humans who’s identity depends on the badge and the gun. The nature of their job demands that they minimize risk to themselves at all times. Heroes and cowards are defined by moments, not career choices. As long as American society is based on a caste system, Cops will be enforcing that syste. People in dominant castes will get a pass and people in submissive castes will will face discrimination.
November 29, 2019 at 9:58 am
Actually in the case you first cited, the individual was arrested in the subway with a “switchblade”. The argument is invalid as ANY knife is illegal in the NYC subway system. I actually had a long discussion with the officers tat called me out on my pocket clipped HK switchblade with hidden mechanism. I was sweating bullets as they were trying to flick it out to see if it was a gravity knife. I argued with them that if they have to use their own energy to flick it, that’s not how gravity works. Lol. They never figured out the switch mechanism and eventually let me go with a warning that NO knife is allowed in the subway and they told me to just make sure I hide it well. they agreed that I was justified in carrying it as I was lugfing a $5k camera up to 250th street🤣
November 16, 2021 at 12:25 pm
Damn, interesting story! I’m way too familiar with that intensely nervous feeling during the time where you’re still trying to process how they’re going to handle the situation!
I also work in the television/photo/film industry and had a similar experience when getting stopped by two patrol officers in Brooklyn one night in 2015.
I was coming home from AC-ing on this silly Matthew McConaughey (lol) movie called “Gold”. I had already drove all the way from Long Island, returned the cam dept truck and rode the G from LIC to my neighborhood at the time. I was coming above ground at the Myrtle–Willoughby stop and two cops noticed the clip of my folding utility blade in my pocket (tiny Sheffield box cutter with replaceable blade) and stopped me. For like twenty mins they fiddled with my knife while we went back and fourth about legality, how I couldn’t do my job without it and then answered their dumb fanboy questions about all their favorite actors 😂. My friend was with me and definitely aided in convincing them that I 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 work on sets.
In the end though.. same as you, they also encouraged me to hide the knife so I wouldn’t get stopped. Thinking back on it, I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if I weren’t a regular looking white kid that had a clean-cut, white friend to back up his story. Probably a varying degree of outcomes but I’m certain they all wouldn’t have ended as chill as mine.
January 9, 2022 at 11:51 pm
Ah, it looks like you caught their attention because of the exposed clip.
From the NYPD site.
* Is it illegal to carry a knife in public view?
* New York City law prohibits carrying a knife that can be seen in public, including wearing a knife outside of your clothing. This applies to all knives, even if the blade is not exposed. When any portion of the knife is visible, such as the clip, hinge or top, this is considered in public view. This rule does not apply to those who carry knives for work that customarily requires the use of such knife, members of the military, or on-duty ambulance drivers and EMTs while engaged in the performance of their duties.
New York City also prohibits the possession in public of a knife with a blade that is 4 or more inches regardless of whether any part of the knife, including the blade, is visible or concealed. This rule does not apply to those who carry knives for work that customarily requires the use of such knife, members of the military, or on-duty ambulance drivers and EMTs while engaged in the performance of their duties.