help with california code

You're asking for legal advice. Few of us are lawyers. I don't think any of us are lawyers with the California bar.

I'd _strongly_ recommend that you contact someone in your own state who has expertise in this area.

The simplest answer may be to simply ask your local police department how they would interpret it. There's no guarantee that _they_ understand it correctly, but at least that will tell you how they're going to react, which is in some ways a more important question.

If you want a real answer, see if you can find a pro bono legal service which could advise you. Local law schools may be a good place to start.

(I know how I read it. I'm not about to promise you that my reading has anything to do with reality. Straining at gnats and swallowing camels are first-year jurisprudence studies.)

It's a gray area. Basically it says it is illegal to carry burglars tools. What is considered a burglars tool depends on its intended use. If you are a known car thief skulking around a dark parking lot with a flat head screw driver in your pocket then they can consider that screwdriver a "burglars tool." However if an electrician is returning to his work van in the same parking lot with the same screwdriver then it is not a "burglars tool."

Lock picks are different because they serve no other use than to open locks. If you are not a locksmith then the mere fact that you possess them and have them on your person could establish intent. It is at the discretion of the arresting officer.

If you have a criminal record of any kind don't count of getting any slack. If you don't have a record you are still running a risk. Either way it is best not to have them at all.

Majestic

It used to be in CA that carrying lock picks without a locksmith permit was a gray area in that they had to prove intent on burglarizing or some such. For a few years now, CA has required all locksmiths to have a permit. Period. They will have you fingerprinted with the DoJ and spend 3 months doing a background check. If you have any record at all, it will delay things another 3 months while they make their decision. The same goes for reprocessors and alarm installers.

Ok, can someone please tell me how porcelain spark plug pieces can be used as a lock opening tool? Seems too weak to use as a tension bar, and I think I would cut my hand open using them as a pick.

Am I missing something? Or do you just put the pieces on top of a filed down blank and hope they rake the tumblers into line?

Used to quietly break car windows, nothing to do with picking locks. See below.

Taken from: San Diego County Legal Update Bulletin

Facts: In February, 1999, defendant was caught by a person burglarizing that person's vehicle. When confronted by the victim, defendant returned the victim's property taken out of the car, and then left. The victim's rear window had been shattered. Two months later, defendant was contacted by San Diego Police Department Sgt. Ann-Marie Hiskes while possibly involved in another car burglary. Searched at the scene, Hiskes found two small pieces of porcelain from a spark plug in his pocket. Charged with vehicle burglary (P.C. Section 459; apparently from the February incident) and possession of burglar's tools (P.C. Section 466), a police detective testified that pieces of ceramic spark plugs are used by thieves to throw at car windows to shatter them because the spark plug pieces make very little sound when used in such a manner. Defendant was convicted of both counts and he appealed, arguing that the pieces of ceramic spark plugs did not constitute "burglar's tools" as described in section 466.

Holding: The Fourth District Court of Appeal (San Diego) reversed his conviction for possessing the burglar's tools, agreeing with defendant's argument. P.C. Section 466 makes it a misdemeanor to possess either one of the several tools listed in the section, or "other instrument or tool," with the intent to commit a burglary. The People argued that the ceramic spark plug pieces fit within the general category of "other instrument or tool." In interpreting the meaning of the section, the Court used a rule of construction known as "ejusdem generis," which applies when general terms (e.g., "other instrument or tool") follow a list of specific items or categories, or vice versa. Under this rule, per the Court, "application of the general term is '"restricted to those things that are similar to those which are enumerated specifically."' [Citations]" Pieces of spark plugs are not similar to anything specifically listed in section 466. The Court also noted that it is not a question of whether the device in issue can accomplish the same general purpose as the tools listed (i.e., break a car window), but rather whether the device in issue is in fact a similar type of tool or instrument as those listed. Therefore, P.C. Section 466 was not intended to include anything like the ceramic spark plug pieces found in defendant's pocket.

Burglar tools aren't limited to gaining access by picking locks or forcing open doors.

Someone named Skip snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com Proclaimed on Fri, 25 Jul

2003 13:01:06 -0700,

A brick could be a burglar tool. Depends on who is holding it.

-Graham

It could very well be and has been.

Oh, good, a convicted felon trying to learn how to pick locks. Who's your probation officer Dave? I think he'd like to see this.

I'm not a lawyer, and this is not meant to be legal advice. I probably don't understand it.

1) Look for the parts that include students of the art as locksmiths. 2) Remember, the police can bust you for anything they think is proper. It's up to you to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to prove them wrong. 3) If you occasionally get hassled by police for other things, you'd be better off leaving the picks at home. 4) The registration application has a section that requires that you have filed for a ficticious business name, suggesting a business license is needed.

Me? I never carry picks or impressioning tools unless I have my full assortment of locks, drills, screwdrivers, jigs, etc.

I do, on occasion carry tension wrenches to computer jobs, as they are far more hastle to fabricate on the spot. Never underestimate the power of a good tension wrench and a paper clip.

Daniel