Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that possession of a switchblade is no longer a crime under the Second Amendment

“Although swords and daggers were the most commonly used bladed weapons, Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries also carried smaller knives with three- to four-inch blades that were used for self-defense, hunting, and trapping,” Justice Serge Georges Jr. wrote for the court. “Among the many types of knives, the folding pocket knife played an important role, both as a tool and as a weapon.”

Citing the Bruen ruling, Georges wrote that the widespread use of knives in the late 18th century was one reason why switchblades could no longer be considered dangerous weapons subject to government regulation.

“Not only do folding pocket knives fit contemporary dictionary definitions of weapons — which would encompass a broader category of knives that today includes switchblades — but they were also commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes at the time of the founding,” Georges wrote. “Thus, carrying switchblades is presumptively protected by the plain language of the Second Amendment.”

The 2022 Bruen ruling states that the Second Amendment protects a person's right to carry a gun in public for self-defense.

According to court documents, the state law in question made it illegal to possess a “switchblade knife or a knife with an automatic spring-release device that releases the blade from the handle and that has a blade length exceeding 1.5 inches” and carried a prison sentence of up to five years.

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who filed a brief advocating for the law to remain in place, issued a statement Tuesday evening expressing her disappointment with the Attorney General's decision.

“This case shows the difficult position the Supreme Court put our state courts in with the Bruen decision, and I am disappointed in today's outcome. The fact is that switchblades are dangerous weapons, and the legislature made a common sense decision to pass a law prohibiting people from carrying such knives. My office will continue to work in the State House and in the courts to ensure and enforce the laws that protect us to protect the people of Massachusetts,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court also cited Bruen last year when it overturned convictions for illegal gun possession in a 2019 case, ruling that “possession of a firearm in public is constitutionally protected conduct.”

A police check revealed that the convicted man did not have a permit to carry a the weapon, but at trial the jury was not given the necessary instructions that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not have a license in order to convict him on the firearm and ammunition possession charges, the court ruled.

Tuesday's ruling involved David E. Canjura, who was charged in Boston Municipal Court in 2020 with possession of a dangerous weapon after police responded to a domestic violence call and found him in possession of “an orange, firearm-shaped knife with a spring-loaded blade.”

Canjura pleaded guilty and subsequently, represented by the Committee for Public Counsel Services, challenged the constitutionality of the charges on the basis of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Canjura's lawyers cited Heller, a 2008 ruling that prevented states from enacting an “absolute ban” on weapons that can be used for self-defense, as one of several reasons for overturning the switchblade law.

“Given the long history of folding pocket knives in general and switchblades in particular, switchblades constitute 'portable weapons' that are protected by the Second Amendment,” the defense argued.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden, whose office prosecuted Canjura, urged the court to keep the switchblade law in effect.

In his petition to the Supreme Court, Hayden cited 19th-century rulings by courts in Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia that declared Bowie knives, daggers and brass knuckles to be “weapons dangerous to the peace and safety of the citizens” and should therefore be regulated or banned.

That period was far enough back in the history of the country's gun regulations to still be applicable to switchblades today, prosecutors argued.

The Supreme Court disagreed. The court said Bruen only allowed gun regulation if it was “consistent with the historic tradition of gun regulation in this country.” The 19th-century rulings did not apply to folding knives or their modern cousins, switchblades, Georges wrote.

“The Commonwealth cannot identify any laws regulating bladed weapons, such as pocket knives in general or switchblades in particular, that were in effect at the time of the adoption or ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Georges wrote.

According to the Supreme Judicial Council, Massachusetts is one of only seven states, along with the District of Columbia, that have banned switchblades. Only two other states have the same blade length restrictions as Massachusetts.

“From these facts, we can reasonably conclude that switchblades are now commonly used by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” including self-defense, Georges wrote.

John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe.