A.G. Gancarski
The First District Court of Appeal on Tuesday ruled against a Nassau County man in a “stand your ground” case.
On behalf Nicholas Rudin, 4th Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk‘s team contended that Rudin was immune from prosecution under state Statute 766.032 (the stand your ground law).
Shirk’s external communications officer said the case was not tried personally by Shirk, but by veteran attorney Chris Clayton.
The appeal was predicated on the assertion that the lower court should have dismissed the case under statute.
The case involved Rudin stabbing his father in the chest. The two have had a contentious relationship that culminated when Rudin stabbed his father, contending he did it because his father swung a stick at him.
The argument began at Rudin’s father’s home when, while driving away from his father’s house, the son ripped a canvas cover off of his father’s pickup truck.
Rudin the elder then chased his son to the house of his son’s paternal grandmother. The father apparently intended to damage the son’s vehicle. However, Rudin the Younger rushed at Rudin the Elder. The son blocked the father’s swinging stick, then stabbed his father while grabbing the stick, according to court records.
The appeals court held that Rudin the younger failed to establish immunity from prosecution.
In part, the court held that the force used in swinging the stick wasn’t enough to satisfy the threshold of preventing “imminent death or great bodily harm” to Rudin the younger. The court held that the elder Rudin was just trying to hold his son at bay with the stick.
Despite the legal setback, Nicholas Rudin can use “justifiable use of deadly force as a defense at trial.”
