836
Per Curiam
Because the L. B. decision cast doubt on the validity of Bunkley's conviction by interpreting the exception to cover his weapon, Fiore entitles Bunkley to a determination whether L. B. correctly stated the law as it stood at the time Bunkley was convicted. The Florida Supreme Court characterized L. B. as part of a century-long evolutionary process, but did not decide what stage the law had reached by 1989. The proper question for purposes of Fiore is not just whether the law changed, but when it changed. Unless and until the State Supreme Court clarifies the exception's content in 1989, this Court cannot know whether Bunk-ley's conviction violates the due process principles set forth in Fiore. Certiorari granted; 833 So. 2d 739, vacated and remanded.
Per Curiam.
Clyde Timothy Bunkley petitions for a writ of certiorari, arguing that the Florida Supreme Court contradicted the principles of this Court's decision in Fiore v. White, 531 U. S. 225 (2001) (per curiam), when it failed to determine whether the "common pocketknife" exception to Florida's definition of a " '[w]eapon' " encompassed Bunkley's pocket-knife at the time that his conviction became final in 1989. Fla. Stat. § 790.001(13) (2000). We agree, and therefore grant Bunkley's motion to proceed in forma pauperis and his petition for a writ of certiorari.
I
In the early morning hours of April 16, 1986, Bunkley burglarized a closed, unoccupied Western Sizzlin' Restaurant. Report and Recommendation in No. 91-113-CIV-T-99(B) (MD Fla.), p. 1. The police arrested him after he left the restaurant. At the time of his arrest, the police discovered a "pocketknife, with a blade of 21/2 to 3 inches in length, . . . folded and in his pocket." 768 So. 2d 510 (Fla. App. 2000) (per curiam). "There is no evidence indicating Bunkley ever used the pocketknife during the burglary, nor that he threatened anyone with the pocketknife at any time." Ibid.
Bunkley was charged with burglary in the first degree because he was armed with a "dangerous weapon"—namely, the pocketknife. Fla. Stat. § 810.02(2)(b) (2000). The punishment for burglary in the first degree is "imprisonment
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