28-1201 Terms, defined. - Nebraska Statutes

28-1201. Terms, defined.For purposes of sections 28-1201 to 28-1212.04, unlessthe context otherwise requires:(1) Firearm means anyweapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectileby the action of an explosive or frame or receiver of any such weapon;(2) Fugitive from justice means anyperson who has fled or is fleeing from any peace officer to avoid prosecutionor incarceration for a felony;(3) Handgunmeans any firearm with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length or anyfirearm designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand;(4) Juvenile means anyperson under the age of eighteen years;(5) Knife means anydagger, dirk, knife, or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inchesin length or any other dangerous instrument capable of inflicting cutting,stabbing, or tearing wounds;(6) Knuckles and brass oriron knuckles means any instrument thatconsists of finger rings or guards made of a hard substance and that is designed,made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily injury or deathby striking a person with a fist enclosed in the knuckles;(7) Machine gun means any firearm, whatever its size and usualdesignation, that shoots automatically more than one shot, without manualreloading, by a single function of the trigger;(8) School means a public,private, denominational, or parochial elementary, vocational, or secondaryschool, a private postsecondary career school as defined in section 85-1603,a community college, a public or private college, a junior college, or a university;(9) Short rifle means a rifle having a barrel less than sixteeninches long or an overall length of less than twenty-six inches; and(10) Short shotgun means a shotgun having a barrel or barrels lessthan eighteen inches long or an overall length of less than twenty-six inches. SourceLaws 1977, LB 38, § 233; Laws 1994, LB 988, § 2; Laws 2009, LB63, § 9; Laws 2009, LB430, § 6.AnnotationsThe Legislature intended the words "with a blade over three and one-half inches" to apply to daggers, dirks, knives, and stilettos, such that any of these items having blades over 3 1/2 inches are "knives" under subsection (4) of this section. Daggers, dirks, knives, or stilettos with blades over 3 1/2 inches are knives per se. When a case involves an instrument not specifically named in subsection (4) of this section, the State bears the burden of proving that the instrument is a dangerous instrument capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds, and thus is a "knife" for purposes of section 28-1205(1). State v. Bottolfson, 259 Neb. 470, 610 N.W.2d 378 (2000).A firearm does not have to be operable in order for the defendant to be guilty of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. State v. Clark, 10 Neb. App. 758, 637 N.W.2d 671 (2002).The evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, even though a crime laboratory report indicated that the defendant's handgun was inoperable. The evidence indicated that the defendant used a weapon designed to expel a projectile, as the report stated that the handgun was a semiautomatic pistol with a matching magazine. State v. Clark, 10 Neb. App. 758, 637 N.W.2d 671 (2002).