King

Subdivision (a)(1) of Penal Code section 12020 (section 12020(a)(1)), prohibits the possession of a variety of weapons. Does it require a culpable mental state, or is it a “public welfare offense,” for which proof of a culpable mental state is not required? We conclude that section 12020(a)(1) is not a public welfare offense, and that the prosecution must prove the possessor’s knowledge of the weapon’s illegal characteristics.

We also conclude that when, as here, the prohibited weapon is a “short-barreled rifle”—in this case a rifle that had been altered to reduce its overall length to less than 26 inches—the prosecution need only establish the defendant’s knowledge of the shortness of the rifle, not its precise dimensions. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court’s failure to instruct on knowledge required reversal of defendant’s conviction for illegally possessing the rifle, concluding that the evidence was in conflict as to whether he knew that the rifle was shorter than the legally allowed 26 inches in overall length specified in the statute. Because the uncontested evidence established defendant’s knowledge of the rifle’s size, we reverse the judgment of the…