It is illegal in Los Angeles County to possess brass knuckles. It is also illegal now that the California Penal Code Section 21810 has been defined more clearly – to possess any type of knuckles that are used to be able to inflict a serious blow to another person.
Examples of course, are brass knuckles, any type of metal knuckles, composite knuckles, anything with resin.
Bottom line is, if you have some sort of a knuckle that goes over your fingers that you can use to punch somebody and it's a hard substance and the prosecutors get their hands on a case like that, they're going to prosecute you and when it comes to possession or use of brass knuckles in Los Angeles County, it's a wobbler – which basically means it can be prosecuted as a felony or a misdemeanor.
Factors for Misdemeanor vs Felony Case
This is another one of those crimes that it's obviously illegal to have any type of metal knuckles or any hard knuckles and that's one charge and depending on what you're doing with those knuckles the prosecutors will use their discretion in filing the case as a felony or misdemeanor.
But if you hit somebody with the face with some sort of metal knuckles, causing some sort of serious injury to that person, you can bet your bottom dollar that the police and prosecutors are going to arrest you and charge you with a felony.
You're going to be looking at time in California state prison and if the injury is bad enough and meets certain requirements of the Penal Code, you will also be charged with a 3-year prison enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury against another person.
You'll have a strike on your criminal record that will last forever in California. The bottom line is, no good can come from possessing any type of metal knuckles, brass knuckles or otherwise, because if you violate Penal Code Section 21810, the prosecutors and judges take these crimes very seriously and you're going to need a good defense attorney to defend you.
Defenses To Possession Of Brass Metal Knuckles – PC 21810
There are defenses, but the bottom line is you're going to have to be able to show that either you're not the one who possessed the knuckles, or that somehow the substance of the knuckles is not dangerous to other people.
This becomes very difficult because the Penal Code section was altered not too long ago because there was a loophole in there because a lot of people didn't have brass knuckles, but had other hard substance knuckles.
So, that loophole has since been closed by the legislature and obviously, if you get caught with brass knuckles, a lot of times the police are going to arrest you or cite you in to appear in court and you're going to have to defend yourself.
So, even if you have a self-defense situation, you might be warranted in defending yourself if someone is using deadly force against you for example, you might be able to use brass knuckles.
If someone is coming toward you with a knife and you use brass knuckles, you have an argument that that's reasonable force because you're meeting serious deadly force like a knife for example with some other force that's equally as damaging.
However, you would still be guilty of possession of brass knuckles under that scenario. So, the bottom line if you're charged with possession of any type of knuckles, you want to get an attorney who's been doing it for twenty-five years like me. I have handled these cases, has seen how the crime of possession of metal knuckles has developed into a felony under some circumstance sand where it should be charged as a misdemeanor.
Preparing Mitigation Package For Your Defense
These are crucial distinctions and there are crucial arguments that can be made on your behalf, but they have to be made by an attorney who's been down this road before, who knows how to put together a mitigation package for the prosecutors and who knows how to fight and defend these cases if necessary.
What I have you do is I have you come in the office. We go over everything. I obviously encourage you to give me all the details. Be honest.
Don't leave anything out. Don't put a spin on anything. Once I have all the facts and circumstances, I can then use my years of experience to help develop a defense strategy. I can tell you what you can do to help me. I'll let you know what you're up against, what you're facing.
I will also let you know what I'm going to do to help you – what type of a result you're likely to get and how we can get the best result through using mitigating circumstances in a case or using character letters and other things that make sense as it relates to your case so we can get this possession of brass knuckles pursuant to Penal Code Section 21810 off your record as soon as possible.
Contact the Hedding Law Firm to review your case. For more information on Possession Of Brass Knuckles In California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (213) 542-0979 today.
