Chris Finish Argumentative Essay

Statement of Facts Chris Finish is a licensed driver who has owned his car for about six months. On the night of his arrest, he picked up Josh Kings at approximately 8:00 p.m. While double parked outside a store 24 police notice an expired inspection sticker on the defendants vehicle. the officer stopped them at approximately 10:30 p.m. After questions them for a bit the officer notices a handgun under the passenger seat. Both men denied any knowledge of the gun. The defendants lawyer moved for a directed verdict, The motion was denied, Chris is now appealing his conviction. John Kings has not been seen sense the night of the arrest.

Discussion
How is knowledge of the weapon defined? Knowledge is the key factor in determining whether or not the defendant should be convicted for possession of a weapon. In the case (Commonwealth v. Boone), the court stated, “knowledge is necessary to prove control. It is not enough to place the defendant and the weapon in the same car”. In this case, Boone and his counterpart were found operating a motor vehicle without permission
The gun was found under the passenger seat, but Finish was in the driver’s seat. However, he could have been double parked for a quick getaway and the timing of the event was late in the evening, one must take into consideration the knowledge of the defendant versus the knowledge of his passenger. Finish may have been double parked because his passenger asked him to stop at the store for a short amount of time. Perhaps the passenger was intending to rob the store without telling the defendant of his intentions. In this case, it important to understand how the location of the gun is relevant to the knowledge of the defendant. Upon being stopped by the police, the passenger could have easily placed his gun under seat so far under the seat that it stuck out the back on the