Status of Appeal 8/15/08

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sent an order to the Attorney General's office on 8/15/08 requiring them to file a new brief that is not more than 24,000 words. They need to file this new brief by Sept. 15 and then our attorneys will have 14 days from that date to file our reply.
Regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

Attorney General Filed Response, July 16, 2008

The Attorney General filed a 141 page brief on July 16, 2008. This was in response to the Appeal we filed on May 12, 2008 (please see the prior posting). Now our attorneys will have a chance to rebut those arguments in a brief of their own. The given response time is 14 days though they will likely ask for an extension just as the Attorney General's office did. After that, our attorneys may or may not be granted the opportunity to present oral arguments. Once these steps are done, the Court will review all of the materials and notify us with their ruling. Through all of this, we hope and pray as hard as we can that their decision will be in our favor.

Other than this news, there have not been any changes to report to you. Brandon is doing okay at Centinela. He hasn't been able to order paints but is learning to use colored pencils (though getting even those can be a challenge sometimes). There was a rumor a while back that they might close his yard and move him again. We haven't heard anymore about it for a while so we hope that everything will stay as it is for now. We can manage the travel and Brandon is really enjoying the many visits from family and friends that's he had since his arrival.

Thanks so much for your kind notes and continued support.
Regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

The Appeal was filed on May 12, 2008

A reminder from a past posting: Filing a brief is a time consuming process. We do not expect an answer from the court for 6 months to a year. There are many steps in the process.

- The Attorney General's office will be given time to file a response.
- Our attorneys wil then be given time to file a reply to their response.
- Then it will be in the hands of the court for a number of months.
- Whether oral arguments will be granted or not this time, we do not know.

At least now it is finally in process. Thanks always for your prayers and good wishes for Brandon's freedom. He's hanging in there and appreciates your support.

Regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

Ps. Keep checking the art gallery called The Box on brandonhein.com. New artwork will be posted soon.

Status of Appeal 5/6/08

The filing of the appelate brief has been delayed again and is now scheduled to take place on May 12, 2008. The legal team is still refining the document and while we are always disappointed by delays, we want what is best for Brandon.
Warmest Regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

Status of Appeal 03/30/08

Hello Everyone,

The filing of the appeal with the 9th Circuit Court has been delayed for what we hope will be the last time. It is now scheduled for April 28, 2008. Just a reminder, the filing is only the start of the process. If you haven't already, please take a minute to review our prior blog posting as it talks about the multiple steps yet to come.

We saw Brandon on Easter and he's doing okay. His yard has been locked down quite often in the last couple of months and that makes scheduling visits a challenge. Even so, he has great friends and family who are willing to risk being turned away. We've really been grateful that the long drive hasn't deterred them.

Warmest regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

Status of Appeal 03/03/08

Hello Everyone,

We have an update for you on the status of the appeal. It was not filed as planned in February. The attorneys needed more time with the brief so the new date for filing is March 25th. From some of the messages we received, our last blog posting apparently caused some confusion. Filing a brief is a time consuming process. Even though March 25th is the new date, we do not expect an answer from the courts for 6 months to a year. There are many steps in the process. The Attorney General's office will be given time to file a response and our attorneys will then be given time to file a reply to their response. Then it will be in the hands of the court for a number of months. Whether oral arguments will be granted or not this time, we do not know. So as you can see it will be a long time before we know the 9th Circuit Court's ruling. We wish that were not the case but it is.

On a more positive note, Brandon continues to produce incredible artwork with the materials he has at hand (pencil, pen, colored pencils). We planned to visit last weekend but his yard was locked down so we will try again. He sends his thanks for your cards, birthday greetings, and letters.

In February, the Calvary Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon put on a fundraiser for Brandon's defense fund. This is the church of Brandon's grandparents. It was a beautiful event with about 90 attending a German dinner, purchasing raffle tickets for donated, and in many cases handcrafted, items. Music was played, songs were sung, prayers were given, and love filled the room. We are very blessed to have such a caring group of people in our corner just as we are blessed to have all of you.

Warmest regards,
Gene and Janice Hein

News of Brandon 1.27.08

Hello Everyone,


We've had a few visits with Brandon at Centinela State Prison in Imperial, CA. The first time we drove down was on Christmas Eve. The prison has to process his paperwork (it's called being "classified") before he's allowed a contact visit. We went to visit on Christmas Day and since he was not yet classified, we were only allowed to see him for a half hour through the glass. Visiting that way is tough because you have to talk by phone and only the person holding the phone receiver can hear him.

We drove down again the first and second weekends of January. It takes almost 4 hours one way so we stay overnight. The drive is all freeways and not bad. El Centro (about 10 miles from the prison) has a number of hotels that are reasonably priced. The first weekend was a visit through the glass again for an hour each day. The second weekend we finally had contact visits. (Yeah!) For those who have visited him at the other prisons, this area is run well. Processing is quick and organized. The visiting room is very clean. The chairs have some padding (5 hours on the plastic ones can take a toll on your back), and there is a patio so you can get some fresh air and sit at the concrete picnic tables (okay - it's surrounded by walls and barbed wire but still, a chance to go outside!). We hear temperatures can get up to 115 degrees in the summer so that will make it interesting.

How is Brandon?
He's doing okay.

His first cellmate was 79 years old. A decent guy though they didn't have much in common. His current cellie shares his interest in art and that's a plus. Brandon misses painting. He is trying to work with colored pencils but his ideas come out faster than he can express them by drawing and that's frustrating. We still hope that a hobby program can get started there.

He misses seasons. Tehachapi had snow and rain. Imperial has sun, wind, and dust - lots of it.

Brandon is allowed to call more often, has a job that doesn't cancel out any visiting times, and the TV gets more channels and movies. Visiting is open on Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday. All good. He receives mail quickly and the cards you sent at Christmas have been forwarded to him.

Thanks to all of you who have asked for his new address. He just switched to a new cell number on the same yard. Mail will still reach him at the previous address. He can give you the new cell number when he replies or you can write to freebh@brandonhein.com again and request it.

If you would be willing to accept a collect call from Brandon please let him know. Include your phone number in your letter and let him know the best times to reach you. This is important because the times he's allowed to call vary from day to day and the he's only allowed a limited number of minutes. The calls can be made to land lines only so if yours is a cell phone, this is not an option.

Thanks to all for your continued support.


Warmest regards,
Gene and Janice Hein




Status of the Appeal
There's been a minor change to the filing date. It is now February 22, 2008.