Supreme Court of California

Penal Code section 12020(a)(1), which prohibits the possession of a variety of weapons, is not a public welfare offense, and the prosecution must prove the possessor's knowledge of a weapon's illegal characteristics.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/15/2006
• Published 05/15/2006

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Hilda Scheib, San Francisco, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Assistant Attorney General, Catherine A. Rivlin and Gregg E. Zywicke, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.