Colinford Mattis of Pryor Cashman and registered attorney Urooj Rahman were arrested and charged with damaging New York City Police Department vehicles with Molotov cocktails May 30, 2020, during protests in Brooklyn.

Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the ruling of a district court judge who found that the attorneys accused of firebombing an empty New York City Police Department vehicle can be released to home confinement, vacating an earlier stay that sent the lawyers to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center.

Judges Peter Hall and Gerard Lynch wrote that they "would not have necessarily reached the same conclusion" as U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie of the Eastern District of New York, who released Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman to home confinement on a $250,000 bond, but they were left without a firm conviction that Brodie committed clear error.

Judge Jon Newman dissented, writing that even if the court did not reverse based on clear error, it should remand so that the district court could make "some explicit indication" as to whether the presumption of detention had been rebutted.

The case has attracted attention across the legal community, with more than 50 former federal prosecutors and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers joining together on an amicus brief opposing the government's arguments.

Mattis was suspended from his job as an associate at Pryor Cashman pending the outcome of the criminal case, while Rahman worked as a tenants' attorney in Bronx Housing Court prior to her arrest.

More than 850 people currently or formerly affiliated with New York University School of Law, from which Mattis graduated, have signed an open letter describing the charges as politically motivated and calling for the pair's release.

Hall and Lynch noted that prosecutors submitted no evidence indicating that Mattis or Rahman had engaged in any criminal conduct other than the alleged Molotov cocktail attack, which prosecutors say took place May 30, during the first weekend of protests against police brutality and for racial justice in Brooklyn.

Mattis and Rahman have been indicted on charges of arson and use of explosives, among other offenses. Each pleaded not guilty during conference-call arraignments marked by the enthusiastic participation of their supporters, dozens or hundreds of whom crowded onto the phone lines.

Rahman's attorney, Paul Shechtman of Bracewell, said the Second Circuit's ruling will allow Rahman to resume caring for her mother at their home in Brooklyn.

"Urooj's family and hundreds of supporters could not be more pleased with today's decision that reunites her with her mother," he said in a statement. "It is the first step on the road to justice in this case."

Mattis' attorney, Sabrina Shroff, said Mattis' family is also thrilled to have him home.

"I had the pleasure of telling Colin's family that he was coming home and I can't begin to tell you the relief and joy when they heard the news," she said in a statement.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.

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