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United States Second Circuit

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Copeland v. Vance, 17-474

Affirmed. Plaintiff retailer appeals from a ruling that New York’s ban on gravity knives is unconstitutionally vague and the test for determining whether a knife is a gravity knife is indeterminate. A gravity knife is a determined by New York to be a folded knife that will open easily with a flick of the wrist. The 2nd Circuit held that plaintiffs did not show that the statute was unconstitutionally enforced against them in all respects, but raised concerns that the flick test was too imprecise and may trap the innocent by not providing a fair warning.

Appellate Information

  • Decided
  • Published 2018/06/22

Judges

  • Katzmann

Court

  • United States Second Circuit

Counsel

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