A “dangerous weapon” is any instrument or device designed primarily for use in inflicting death or injury upon a human being or animal, and which is capable of inflicting death upon a human being when used in the manner for which it was designed, except a bow and arrow when possessed and used for hunting or any other lawful purpose. Additionally, any instrument or device of any sort whatsoever which is actually used in such a manner as to indicate that the defendant intends to inflict death or serious injury upon the other, and which, when so used, is capable of inflicting death upon a human being, is a dangerous weapon. Dangerous weapons include but are not limited to any offensive weapon, pistol, revolver, or other firearm, dagger, razor, stiletto, switchblade knife, knife having a blade exceeding five inches in length, or any portable device or weapon directing an electric current, impulse, wave, or beam that produces a high-voltage pulse designed to immobilize a person.
Iowa Code § 702.7
Dangerous weapon
Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case United States v. Ford (2018)
Most recently applied in State of Iowa v. James Duane Fuller (July 2018)
[S13, §4775-1a; C24, 27, 31, §12936; C35, §12935-g1, 12936; C39, §12935.1, 12936; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §695.1, 695.2; C79, 81, §702.7]
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Iowa Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Iowa statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.