Got pulled over tonight--almost charged

[fabsroman]

The laws are different from state to state. In Maryland, I believe the knife has to be over a certain number of inches before it qualifies, but having one of the requisite length in the glove compartment, console, or hidden on you will get you arrested. I believe the blade length is somewhere in the 4" range.

With that said, I know a friend of mine that was working for the State's Attorney's office and they prosecuted a guy for having a knife in his backpack that was over the allowable length. He said the only reason they went forward with the prosecution is because the guy was on school property.

By those rules, I am in violation of the statute almost every time I go hunting because I carry a Buck knife in my backpack that is well over the allowable length. I will worry about it when I get the citation. Some of these laws are just completely stupid and you can bet that I will be able to make a pretty darn good case in court.

However, you can rest assured that I will never argue with a law enforcement officer in the field or on the street. I let them write me up for whatever they want to and then I take it to court where the State's Attorney and Judge tend to be more realistic and level headed. Also, if you are courteous to the LEO, the LEO will usually let you off since they have charging discretion. I haven't had any real run ins with the law over the last 7 years, but I did get out of some things earlier in life by just being nice.