Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
From: [W--TF--L] at [HOLONET.NET]
Subject: CA vs. SCOTT - UPDATE!
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 20:39:59 GMT

UC BERKELEY STUDENT MAY GET 2-4 YEARS 
FOR FIREARMS POSESSION

	David Scott, a Political Science major and student government
senator at the University of California, Berkeley, may receive 
a mandatory prison sentence for keeping a firearm in his home, an
off-campus apartment owned by the Regents of the University of
California.

Section 626.9 of the California State Penal Code states, in pertinent 
part:

		Any person who . . . brings or possesses a firearm 
	upon the grounds of any public school, including the 
	University of California, . . . without the permission of 
	the school district superintendent . . . or equivalent 
	school authority, shall be punished by up to one year 
	imprisonment and/or fined up to $1,000.

	Scott, a military veteran, kept a Glock pistol which he used 
for target shooting at nearby firing ranges.  When his housemates 
alerted the housing authorities to the presence of the firearm, 
University Police obtained a search warrant and seized the gun from 
Scott's bedroom dresser drawer.  Initially charging him with a 
misdemeanor, the District Attorney's office recently "realized" that a 
1988 amendment to the penal code makes this offense a felony and upgraded 
the charge accordingly.

	Scott kept the gun in his apartment believing that this right
was protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, and section
12026 of the California State Penal Code which states:

		[A]ny citizen of the United States or legal resident 
	over the age of 18 years who resides or is temporarily 
	within this state . . . shall not be prohibited from owning, 
	possessing, keeping or carrying, either openly or concealed, 
	anywhere within the citizen's or legal resident's place of 
	residence . . . any pistol, revolver, or other firearm. . . .

	The University of California is not interested in the case, but 
District Attorney John Meehan is prosecuting Scott under Section 
626.9, interpreting the "grounds of any public school" to include 
all the property owned by the University of California, including 
off-campus facilities.

	Scott's attorney, Dana Drenkowski, provided evidence that the 
statute prohibiting firearms on "the grounds of any public school" was 
originally added to the penal code in order to prevent the Black 
Panthers from bringing loaded weapons onto the main campus.  Even 
after Drenkowski had demonstrated that section 626.9 was never intended 
to be understood to apply to off-campus facilities, Judge Julie Conger
denied the motion to dismiss, without stating any justification for her 
decision.

	The District Attorney has chosen to use his limited funds to 
prosecute Scott, who has no criminal history, instead of the violent and
drug offenders in Berkeley and Alameda County.  If the appeal of 
this decision is not won the case will go to trial and Scott will face
a mandatory prison sentence for posessing a firearm in his
California home.

	As this case progresses, it will become very expensive to fight.
If you believe in the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, David Scott needs
your support.  Please contribute to:

David Scott Legal Defense Fund
C/O Dana Drenkowski
195 9th Ave. #11
San Francisco, CA  94118

	Letters to the District Attorney can be sent to:

John Meehan*
District Attorney
2120 Martin L. King Jr. Way #105
Berkeley, CA  94704
(510) 644-6683

*Barbara Foo, Deputy District Attorney is handling the case.

	David Scott can be reached at (510) 540-6629 if you have questions 
or suggestions for legal recourse.  You may also respond to Derek 
Westfall, [w--tf--l] at [holonet.net] and your comments and questions will be
passed on.

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