Walk It Through: The Headlights And The Knife
A stop just after sunset, a question about a name, a knife on the way to a school, and a permit at a county building.
Not long after sunset, a driver is pulled over with the headlights off.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One evening's stop and a later errand. Whether the circumstances justified a detention, what makes another knife a deadly weapon, and the airport and campus exceptions are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Concealed weaponA weapon carried so that it is not discernible by ordinary observation. Carrying a concealed firearm, another dangerous or deadly weapon, a pneumatic gun or an explosive without a permit is a category C felony.
- Drawing a deadly weapon in a threatening mannerDrawing or exhibiting a dirk, sword or other deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner, in the presence of two or more persons and not in necessary self defense, a misdemeanor.
- Switchblade knifeA knife looking like a pocketknife, with a blade 2 or more inches long, that releases automatically by a button, pressure on the handle or another mechanism.
- Temporary detentionAn officer holding someone encountered in circumstances that reasonably indicate a crime or civil infraction, only to learn the person's identity and the suspicious circumstances, for no longer than reasonably necessary and never longer than 60 minutes.