## Facts

- An Oakland police officer stopped Moses Dillard, Jr., who was riding a bicycle in public carrying what appeared to be a rifle case.
- Dillard complied with instructions to place the case on the ground and step away.
- The officer opened the case and found a 30-30 Winchester rifle with a round in the chamber and additional ammunition in the firearm and case; the rifle was loaded.
- Dillard testified he had retrieved the cased rifle from his stepfather about three hours earlier and did not open the case before the stop.
- The defense offered evidence that Dillard reasonably believed the rifle was unloaded based on his stepfather’s prior practice of returning it unloaded after hunting trips.
- The trial court excluded the proposed “lack of knowledge” evidence as irrelevant and instructed the jury that knowledge the firearm was loaded was not required for conviction.
- A jury convicted Dillard of the misdemeanor offense of carrying a loaded firearm on his person in a public place under Penal Code § 12031(a); intermediate appellate review affirmed, and the case was transferred to the Court of Appeal.

## Issues

1. Whether knowledge that a firearm is loaded is an element of the offense of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place under Penal Code § 12031(a).
2. Whether excluding evidence of the defendant’s lack of knowledge and instructing the jury that knowledge is unnecessary violated due process by denying a meaningful opportunity to present a defense.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction.
- The court held that knowledge the firearm was loaded is not an element of Penal Code § 12031(a).
- Because knowledge was not an element, the trial court properly excluded evidence offered solely to show Dillard did not know the rifle was loaded.
- The jury instruction stating that knowledge of loaded status is not required was upheld.

## Legal Principles

- When a statute prohibiting dangerous conduct in public omits mens rea language and is directed to public safety, it may be construed as a regulatory (public welfare) offense that does not require proof of knowledge.
- For carrying a loaded firearm in a public place under Penal Code § 12031(a), the prosecution need not prove the defendant knew the firearm was loaded; the offense is established by voluntary carrying in public while the firearm is in fact loaded.
- Evidence is inadmissible as irrelevant when it bears only on a non-element (such as lack of knowledge) and does not negate any required component of the charged offense.
- Due process is not violated by imposing strict liability for objectively hazardous public conduct where the actor is positioned to avoid the risk through reasonable care (e.g., verifying whether a firearm is loaded before carrying it in public).

## Conclusion

The court treated Penal Code § 12031(a) as a public-safety strict-liability offense and held that carrying a firearm in public that is in fact loaded is criminal without proof the carrier knew it was loaded; accordingly, exclusion of lack-of-knowledge evidence and the related jury instruction were affirmed.


People v. Dillard, 154 Cal. App. 3d 261 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984)