Posted on 07/12/2011 6:29:17 PM PDT by marktwain
A jury acquitted a man of carrying a concealed weapon after hearing that he had borrowed the gun for protection in the Sunnydale neighborhood, according to the San Francisco Public Defenders Office.
Jurors acquitted Johnny Stone, 23, of Reno, Nev., on Thursday after five hours of deliberation, and hung on a second misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon. The judge dismissed a third charge, possession of nunchaku.
Stone was arrested Sept. 9, 2009, while visiting family members in the Sunnydale housing projects. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Arial Boyce-Smith, said that he had borrowed the gun for a trip to the car to retrieve baby food and diapers for his crying niece, after hearing gunshots in the area earlier that day.
Stone testified during the trial that he had been robbed on a previous visit to the area and that a cousin had been shot on the same block.
"The defense was one of necessity," Boyce-Smith said. "It was clear Mr. Stone took the gun solely for protection. He was acting in an emergency and it was necessary for him to have the gun to protect himself from great bodily harm."
Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the jurors had used "common sense."
"Mr. Stone's fears about being robbed or hurt were justified by his prior experiences in the neighborhood," Adachi said. "When his baby niece needed to be fed shortly after gunfire rang out, he considered it an emergency and took the precautions he felt were necessary."
Finally, Common Sense stood up in the jury room and shouted out Read the Constitution of the United States before rendering your judgment.
Good thing Mr. Stone wasn’t in Florida!
“Sunnydale housing projects”
I guess they couldn’t name it “Sh**hole housing projects”
Why? I think the defense of necessity is a common law rule?
Noteworthy that he also had nunchaku, aka nunchucks. In California, possession in public, unless traveling to or from a martial arts studio or event, is unlawful.
Martial artists are pragmatic, however. For example, an ordinary bicycle cable with two locks on it.
Another individual had a modified bicycle, whose top tube was not hollow, but solid steel, and quickly removable. Then he would quickly remove one of his hand grips, and screw it, perpendicularly, into the thick steel rod. He called it a “combat tonfa”, another martial arts weapon.
http://www.ebkb.be/images/kung-fu/gebruikte_wapens/tonfa.jpg
Bicycling can be good for your health.
I am really shocked that he beat the wrap with the help of a public defender. Guess they really do help sometimes.
One thing you will never see are the “scores” for prosecutors and public defenders. Were those to become known, a bunch of lawyers rackets would be blown out of the water.
Annual number of violent felony prosecutions/defenses.
Annual number of other felony prosecutions/defenses.
Average annual case load of prosecutor/defender.
Number of cases resulting in guilty plea/plea bargain/trial conviction-trial acquittal/other.
Average length of criminal trials of both.
Typical sentencing (minimum/average/maximum) and probation, by lawyer, of those convicted.
Obviously, if a prosecutor can’t convict Judas, he is the one you want handling your case. And if the defender couldn’t spring Mother Theresa, it might be worth your while to request a different defender, claiming “personality conflict”.
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