Put another way, intent also matters, not just size.

Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn ruled on the appeal first. He said the Nebraska Legislature amended the law in 2009, after the high court’s precedent decisions on concealed knives. The amendment struck language on specific types of knives and instead added the general term “knife” as a deadly weapon.

Colborn’s decision was upheld by the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

In Friday’s unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court acknowledged the limitations of using blade size alone to determine the legality of a knife. But they agreed with the lower court interpretations of the amended state law on knives.

In an opinion written by Judge John Wright, the court seemed to suggest that the Legislature should once again consider revisiting the language defining a knife as a dangerous weapon.

“We decline to comment on the rationale for the legislative amendment that defines all knives with blades longer than 3½ inches as a deadly weapon per se for purposes of the offense of carrying a concealed weapon,” Wright wrote for the court. “That is the province of the Legislature.”