Paul, Weiss is committed to providing impactful pro bono legal assistance to individuals and organizations in need. Our program is all-encompassing, spanning the core issues facing our society.
Pro Bono Client Cleared in Unlawful Weapon Case
- Client News
- October 4, 2012
Practices
Paul, Weiss obtained a victory in a misdemeanor criminal possession of an unlawful weapon case with pro bono partner Bronx Defenders.
Our client was arrested for unlawful possession of a "gravity knife"--a knife that opens through the use of centrifugal force--which is a class A misdemeanor in New York City. In the sworn affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint, the arresting officer testified that, before performing the search that resulted in the seizure of the knife and our client's arrest, he observed the knife and noticed it was clipped to our client's pants pocket. Upon inspection by Paul, Weiss and our pro bono partner, however, we determined that the knife neither opened through the exercise of centrifugal force nor had a clip. Given these facts, the prosecution admitted that it could not meet its burden and dismissed the case.
The matter was handled by litigation associate Luke Flynn-Fitzsimmons, and was supervised by partner David Brown.