Mowatt

A jury convicted Samuel Mowatt of exhibiting a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor, and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, a felony. The felony conviction was Mowatt’s third strike; the jury also found he had served a prior prison term. The trial court sentenced Mowatt to 26 years to life in prison and ordered him to pay a $10,000 restitution fine. On appeal, Mowatt contends the hunting knife he was charged with carrying was not a “dirk or dagger” under the applicable statutory definition. We agree. As a matter of law, an ordinary hunting knife is not “a knife or other instrument . . . primarily designed, constructed, or altered to be a stabbing instrument designed to inflict great bodily injury or death,” as provided by Penal Code section 12020, subdivision (c)(24) in 1994 and 1995.

Because we reverse Mowatt’s felony conviction, we need not reach his claims involving three strikes issues and the restitution fine. Our disposition also moots his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on the “dirk or dagger” issue, which he raises both on appeal and in a habeas corpus petition, which we consolidated with the appeal. In the unpublished portion of our opinion, we find no…