skip to Main Content
Name: People v. Duran
Case #: B174703
Opinion Date: 12/01/2004
Division: 6
Citation: 124 Cal.App.4th 666
Summary

A felon who used false information on a firearm application cannot be charged with attempted possession of a firearm by a felon. Applying the principle that a special statute controls over a general statute, the Court of Appeal affirmed an order granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge under Penal Code sections 664 and 12021. Section 12076, subdivision (b)(1) makes it illegal to submit false information in an attempt to purchase a firearm, the exact conduct of which the defendant here was accused. Thus there is no need for the courts to create a new offense of “attempted possession of a firearm by a felon,” and the motion to dismiss was properly granted.