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

(U.S.S.C., Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Government Law) In an action against the City of Chicago alleging that the City's handgun ban left plaintiffs vulnerable to criminals, judgment for defendants is reversed where the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right, recognized in Heller, to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.

(U.S. 5th Cir., Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus) In a murder prosecution, petitioner's appeal of the denial of his habeas petition is dismissed and the denial of petitioner's Fed. R. Crim. P. 60 motion is affirmed where: 1) omitted from petitioner's motion for a certificate of appealability was a specific reference to the judgment or order from which appeal was taken; and 2) petitioner made no attempt to show that he could not have obtained a transcription sooner if it were necessary to make his case before the district court.

(U.S. 5th Cir., Administrative Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Immigration Law) In a petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upholding petitioner's order of removal under 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(F) for being convicted of an aggravated felony, the petition is granted where: 1) although the argument petitioner presented to the BIA was not identical to that which he raised in his petition for review, the arguments were sufficiently related to establish that he presented his ground for relief to the administrative agency in the first instance; and 2) the BIA erred as a matter of law in concluding that petitioner could not legally plead guilty to an attempted violation of N.Y. Penal Law 120.10(3) or (4).

(U.S. 6th Cir., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Habeas Corpus) District court's denial of defendant's petition for habeas relief from convictions for carjacking and receiving and concealing stolen property is reversed as there was insufficient evidence on which to base defendant's conviction for aiding and abetting the carjacking.

(U.S. 9th Cir., Attorney's Fees, Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure) In an action claiming that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) grooming regulations concerning hair length interfered with plaintiff's First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, the district court's award of attorney's fees to plaintiff is reversed where, because the district court did not actually adjudicate plaintiff's claims, the Ninth Circuit's decision in Siripongs foreclosed an award of attorneys' fees in this case.