Jury Acquits Honor Student Of Gun Charge

[hack89]

San Francisco, CA – An Army veteran and Dean’s List student who was prosecuted over a legally-registered, unloaded gun was found not guilty by a San Francisco jury Wednesday.

Jury members deliberated just 45 minutes before acquitting San Francisco resident Wayne Lee Banks Jr., 26, of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. The misdemeanor charge carries up to a year in jail.

Banks, who has no criminal convictions, was arrested Oct. 9, 2009 following a contested traffic stop at Kearny and Clay streets. Officers stated in the police report that they immediately saw a handgun in a belt holster propped up against the center console.

“Despite officers describing the gun as immediately visible to justify the detention, Mr. Banks was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. You can’t have it both ways. It’s not a magic gun,” said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Maria Lopez.

http://sfpublicdefender.org/media/2010/03/jury-acquits-honor-student-gun-charge/

Some serious police stupidity here.

[cowman]

1. A win

for the good guy, the police officers involved should be reprimanded.

Now lets wait for calbluedem to post one of her thoughtful posts

[Hoopla Phil]

2. Oh da stupid, it hurts!

On edit: This should NEVER have made it to trial.

[GKirk]

3. Different states have different laws....

...in Michigan as soon as you bring your gun into the car it's considered concealed.
Wouldn't matter if you put it on the dashboard.

[cowman]

4. In NV

we can carry fully loaded handguns concealed in our vehicles as long as they are not concealed on our persons or in something we would normally carry like a briefcase or a purse

[Euromutt]

8. Wheras in Washington state, the relevant distinction is whether it's loaded or not

Rule of thumb: transportation of an unloaded firearm of any kind is legal.

You can't have a loaded long gun in a motor vehicle, period (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=77.15.460). You can only have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if you possess a Concealed Pistol License (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.050).

Unresolved questions:
- is a firearm "in any vehicle" if the vehicle is a motorcycle?
- is a firearm considered "loaded" if a loaded detachable magazine is "attached to" the weapon in a manner in which it cannot feed ammunition into the weapon's action (e.g. in a pouch on the buttstock or using one of these: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ARR607-7.html)

[dashrif]

5. Dumbassery

sometimes knows no bounds the evidence tampering part was wonderful too

[slackmaster]

6. Open carry of unloaded firearms is legal pretty much everywhere in California

If you can see it, it's not concealed.

:dunce:

[Glassunion]

7. But if they SAY it was concealed

Bam! You get arrested and have to defend yourself against a catch 22.

[slackmaster]

11. If they say it was concealed, they have both lied and created a problem with their evidence

If it had been concealed, they wouldn't have seen it unless they did an unlawful search.

[proteus_lives]

9. Good ruling.

:thumbsup:

[Euromutt]

10. An example of jury nullification doing good

I consider it entirely likely that a professional lawyer, including a judge, might succumb to the notion that an item (like a firearm) could be in plain view, and nevertheless be "concealed." As an aside, I wonder whether the judge might actually have instructed the jury to accept such a notion, but the jury refused to accept that reasoning. If so, good on them.

The fact that the police submitted photos that were taken only after a police officer had handled the gun and placed in a different spot in the vehicle probably didn't do the prosecution's case any good either.