“The charging documents linked in 58 say that he “did unlawfully carry, possess and sell a knife commonly known as a switchblade knife.”
The problem was that the knife he had is simply not the “knife commonly known as a switchblade.” That it had some features in common with switchblades does not make it one.
The ordinance bans switchblades and then make a clumsy attempt to dfine them. But the ban is on switchblades, and this wasn’t.”
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You need to research this more...you’re wrong. “Switchblades” are ONLY one category of knife that are illegal to carry in Baltimore/Maryland. There are other categories of “assisted opening” knives that are prohibited.
Feel free to post the relevant ordinances. I’m always willing to learn.
Here’s the only Baltimore code I can find on knives:
“It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, carry, or possess any knife with an automatic spring or other device for opening and/or closing the blade, commonly known as a switch-blade knife.”
So what is an “automatic spring?” To ming mind it pretty clearly means you push a button or flip a lever and the knife opens automatically. That’s not the way these knives work. You open it manually, just with a spring to assist.
Which is not to say a court will take this common-sense position.