Andrew D. Stine, P.A. - Florida Criminal Defence Attorney

(U.S. 3d Cir., Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Cyberspace Law) In plaintiffs' suit to enjoin the district attorney of Wyoming County in Pennsylvania from bringing criminal charges in retaliation for their refusal to attend an education program in lieu of facing child pornography charges for "sexting," district court's grant of preliminary injunctive relief is affirmed as plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional retaliation claims, and are entitled to preliminary injunctive relief.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law, Tax-exempt Organizations) In an action seeking pay for the overtime hours plaintiff worked as a seminarian in a Catholic church in Washington, dismissal of the action is affirmed where the ministerial exception barred the claim because: 1) the First Amendment strongly circumscribed legislative and judicial intrusion into the internal affairs of a religious organization; 2) awarding damages would necessarily trench on the Church's protected ministerial decisions; and 3) plaintiff's complaint demonstrated that plaintiff was a minister for purposes of the ministerial exception.

(Cal. App., Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing) After serving 29 years in prison for second degree murder and 13 parole consideration hearings, Governor Schwarzenneger's reversal of the Board's third decision to grant parole is vacated as the Governor's finding that defendant's release on parole posed an unreasonable risk of danger to the public safety is unsupported by evidence and fails to articulate any rational nexus between his reasons for reversing the grant of parole, in violation of defendant's due process rights.

(U.S. 2d Cir., Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Elections, Government Law) In an action seeking a preliminary injunction that would have unwound the expulsion of state senator Hiram Monserrate from the New York State Senate, denial of the injunction is affirmed where: 1) assuming that Monserrate's expulsion burdened constitutional rights related to voting and political association, any such burden was justified by the state interest in maintaining the integrity of the Senate; 2) it would be anomalous to rule that the Constitution prohibits a state legislature from exercising, in the regulation of its internal affairs, a latitude comparable to that expressly allowed to Congress; and 3) the availability of adequate process defeated plaintiffs' "stigma-plus" claim.

(U.S. 11th Cir., Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure) In an action alleging that plaintiff's false arrest violated his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, summary judgment for defendants based on qualified immunity is affirmed where there was no evidence that the arresting officer had reason to believe the perpetrator was anyone other than plaintiff, given the victim's complaint and identification.