Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Concealed weapons and Driving with revoked liscense

No, Pen. C. 12020 is a misdemeanor charge.

Since he is employed, he is unlikely to qualify for public representation. Your friend should seek local counsel in Napa right away.

Also, and unfortunately, there is little defense to your friend carrying those chef's knives home from the restaurant on his motorcycle. They may have a totally innocent use; he may not have intended or even considered that they may be weapons; they could even have been screw-drivers or nail files for that matter; he's still guilty if he concealed them on his person.

The law makes it illegal to carry anything "capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon." It does not matter that it's your grandma carrying her knitting needles in her purse. The CA Supreme Court recognized that this is an absurd result (People v. Rubalcava, 2000), but also said that the courts have no discretion to rewrite the laws. Someone tried to get the issue before the Supreme Court again this year (In re Julio S., 2007), but the Court of Appeal declined go against precedent of the higher court. If your friend is convicted and is really upset, he should start a campaign to change the law.

Having said that, be sure to have your friend use the circumstances of his arrest (coming home from the restaurant) when instructing his counsel to negotiate with the DA. Perhaps he can plead to the 14601 (driving w/susp. lic.) in exchange for dropping the 12020. It's worth a try, and who knows, maybe the DA assigned to the case won't have read up on that law during the plea session.

Good luck to you both.