State high court to consider body-armor law

By Bob Egelko
 
The California Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will hear a prosecution appeal of a ruling throwing out a state law that bans anyone who has been convicted of a violent felony from owning body armor. The unanimous order was a victory for Attorney General Jerry Brown, who had asked the court to take up the case, and for San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón, who had urged Brown to appeal.
 
The law, passed in 1998, was intended to protect police against flak-jacketed criminals such as Lee Boutwell, who fatally shot San Francisco Officer James Guelff in November 1994 and wounded another officer before being killed in a shootout. Congress passed a similar federal law in 2002.
 
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
 
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