2012 Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of racketeering and violence in aid of a racketeering enterprise. Although Defendant was entitled to exercise ten peremptory challenges, he was unable to do so because of a "use it or lose it"…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant, a California state prisoner, was found guilty of two counts of robbery. The district court subsequently dismissed as untimely three claims in Defendant's petition for a writ of habeas…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner petitioned for review from the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) denial of cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. 1229b(a). The BIA held that Petitioner did not demonstrate that he met the seven-year…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, was convicted of armed robbery with a firearm in California in 1981. After serving most of his sentence, Rivera was deported in 1984. Since then, Petitioner twice reentered the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant CB&I Constructors, Inc. negligently caused a June 2002 wildfire that burned roughly 18,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest in Southern California. The United States brought a civil action against CB&I to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this criminal pre-trial matter, a magistrate judge recommended denying a motion to suppress, but the district judge reversed that determination because he was inclined to disbelieve the testimony of government…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bao Tai Nian (Bao), a native and citizen of China, petitioned for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) decision denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention…

Justia Opinion Summary: Rene Lopez-Rodriguez, a Mexican citizen, was paroled into the United States to face immigration and criminal charges following his initial detention at a port of entry when marijuana was discovered in a truck he was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Paul Braunstein, the owner and operator of an Arizona engineering and land surveying firm that previously performed work for the Arizona Department of Transportation, sought damages based on Arizona's use of an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants filed suit against Rearden Commerce, asserting numerous claims related to a conflict between the parties' marks and names. The district court granted Rearden Commerce's motion for summary judgment as to…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the appropriate venue for continuing crimes, like conspiracy, where the conspirators' activities have a ripple-like effect that may involve numerous districts. Here the district court determined…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, three individuals who participated in businesses that helped customers evade federal and state income taxes, were convicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States, mail fraud, false representation of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Puget Sound Energy (PSE) maintains and operates a hydroelectric power plant at Snoqualmie Falls in Washington state. PSE sought verification from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) that it could proceed with…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Andrew Mackey was convicted several crimes in California. Retained attorney Le Rue Grim represented Mackey in post-trial and post-conviction proceedings. Grim subsequently filed a timely petition in the United…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case was a challenge to the State of Washington's Building Code brought by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) along with individual builders and contractors. The impetus for this challenge was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rodolfo Suarez appealed his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Defendant contended that the guilty verdict on that charge was fatally inconsistent…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and imposition of a sixty-month sentence following his entry of a plea of guilty to a single charge of possessing child pornography that had been shipped in interstate commerce. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute 214.4 grams of actual methamphetamine. Defense counsel indicated that Defendant wanted his family members, including his wife and young son, present at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kennard Johnson was sentenced to eleven years, four months in the superior court of California following his entry of a plea of guilty to four theft-related counts for defrauding an auto dealership and stealing a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Chi Mak appealed his jury conviction of conspiring to violate export control laws and attempting to export a defense article to the People's Republic of China in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). The Ninth…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from his conviction and sentence for illegally re-entering the United States after previously having been deported. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Defendant's prior conviction for burglary…

Justia Opinion Summary: Michelle Wing appealed the district court's revocation of her second term of supervised release, which had not yet commenced, based on newly discovered violations of conditions of her previously revoked first term of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor must file a statement of intention indicating whether she intends to surrender or retain personal property that secures a debt, and if a debtor fails to timely do so, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's dismissal of her claim challenging the termination of her long-term disability benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1132. Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, operators of a shuttle service between Sesabe and Tucson, Arizona, alleged that Border Patrol agents stopped their shuttle repeatedly and in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs brought…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the district court's grant of partial summary judgment in favor of CGI in its action seeking "appropriate equitable relief" under section 502(a)(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was charged with two counts of interference with interstate commerce by threat or violence and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Several months after petitioner appealed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a lawful permanent resident, pled guilty in 2007 to felony domestic battery and was charged with removability based on this conviction. Petitioner subsequently petitioned for review of the BIA's decision to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the 16-level enhancement of his sentence due to his prior 1985 conviction for kidnapping under Arizona Revised Statute 13-1304. Defendant argued that ARS 13-1304 did not meet the generic definition of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sierra filed a motion under FRCP 60 in the district court that had issued default judgments against defendant, an officer of a French corporation that bought assets from an insolvent California insurance company pursuant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to knowingly taking or receiving obscene matters from an interactive computer service, a crime that did not categorically constitute a "sex offense" as defined by the Sex Offender Registration and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners were statutorily eligible for early release from prison in exchange for the successful completion of a residential drug abuse treatment program (RDAP). The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), however, enacted a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, insured under two-long term disability plans, sued the Plans when Unum decided to deduct his Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit as deductible income under each plan, resulting in what he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas petition challenging his jury conviction for one count of committing a forcible lewd act upon a child under 14 years of age; eight counts of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit in federal court seeking damages for the 31 months during which they were barred from improving their shoreline property by the moratorium imposed by local officials on new projects. Plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Lands Commission appealed the district court's final judgment in this eminent domain case, wherein the United States took a fee simple interest in the property at issue on behalf of the Navy, which has continuously…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed an order of the district court affirming the Commissioner's final decision denying her disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act (SSA), 42 U.S.C. 401-434. At issue, among other…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the constitutionality of certain California statutes and regulations that prohibit licensed opticians from offering prescription eyewear at the same location in which eye examinations were provided…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit in district court under 28 U.S.C. 1332(a)(2). Plaintiffs subsequently appealed from the district court's dismissal without prejudice of their first amended complaint for lack of subject matter…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose when plaintiff alleged that defendant owed it mineral royalty payments pursuant to an area-of-interest provision contained in a 1979 agreement. The court certified two questions to the Nevada Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for social security fraud pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 408(a)(5). The court held that the district court committed no reversible error in the formulation of jury instructions; the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff alleged that defendants' determination, that plaintiff's psychological disorder made her unfit for reinstatement from disability retirement to active service with the Caltrans, deprived her of her right to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a complaint in federal district court against the United States government, alleging causes of action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 2671-2680. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that…

Justia Opinion Summary: These cross-appeals arose from what the court understood to be the largest civil in rem forfeiture proceeding against firearms unlawfully possessed by a convicted felon in American history. The court addressed several…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought suit against Deerbrook for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Plaintiff was injured in an accident caused by Deerbrook's insured and after plaintiff received a judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. At issue was whether the basis of the search that resulted in defendant's conviction was so attenuated as to require suppression of the firearms…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from the denial of his motion to set aside his convictions and sentences for two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base under 28 U.S.C. 2255. At issue was whether the verdict forms…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an action against defendants, a debt-collection law firm and Dean Prober, Esq. (collectively, Prober), after Prober sought to collect a debt plaintiff owed to Prober's client. Plaintiff alleged that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, on behalf of thousands of retired county employees participating in county-sponsored health care plans, filed suit against the county challenging changes it made to the structure of two health benefits.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Case No. 12-35450, petitioner sought relief under FRCP 60(b), claiming that Martinez v. Ryan rendered him eligible to pursue ineffective assistance of counsel claims on which he had ostensibly defaulted. In Case No.…

Justia Opinion Summary: A coalition of media corporations filed this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 shortly after the issuance of the warrant for Richard Leavitt. Plaintiffs asserted that, as surrogates for the public, they had a right to witness…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas corpus petition because it was time-barred. The court found that petitioner's conviction initially became final on July 11, 2006, 90 days after…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs brought a First Amendment and other constitutional challenges to regulations and associated guidelines that required permits for "commercial weddings" on public beaches in Hawaii. The court held that Hawaii's…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case began as a dispute over the results of CM's special education evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. At issue on appeal was: (1) the ALJ's dismissal of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of second degree murder with aggravating enhancements. This case presented three certified issues which the court reviewed under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), 28…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from the denial of plaintiff's claim of social security disability benefits. At issue was whether the ALJ's handling of an ex parte contact was error, and if so, whether it was harmless. Because the ALJ…

Justia Opinion Summary: Hexcel sued BP Amoco on November 26, 2008 for antitrust injuries it allegedly suffered as a result of a carbon fiber price-fixing scheme, beginning in 1992. To avoid the effect of the applicable four-year statute of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the sentence imposed by the district court following his conviction for illegal reentry after deportation. Defendant challenged the district court's determination that his prior Arizona state court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for harboring aliens and moved to suppress evidence of the aliens as the fruit of a warrantless search and seizure. Though the district court found that the border patrol agents entered the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was sentenced to death following convictions for first-degree murder and other crimes. While seeking federal habeas relief, petitioner requested a stay of the proceedings on the grounds that he was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Government appealed the sentence imposed on defendant for illegal reentry following deportation. The district court declined to apply a 16-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2L1.2, for defendant's prior…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted in a California court of one count of forcible rape and one count of assault with intent to commit rape. Petitioner appealed from the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas…

Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff was convicted for drug possession with intent to distribute, plaintiff sought the return of his property seized by the government during his arrest pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his jury conviction of two counts of making a false statement with respect to information required to be kept by a federally licensed firearms dealer. The court held that the district court correctly…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, television news reporters for KPIX-TV, brought suit alleging that KPIX discriminated against them on the basis of age and gender, in violation of California law, when they were laid off. The district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued defendants under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that the copying and dissemination of her son's autopsy photographs violated her Fourteenth Amendment Due Process rights. The court held that plaintiff had a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a 69-year-old inmate, appealed the grant of summary judgment denying his claims for violations of his rights under the Eighth Amendment. Plaintiff claimed that the doctors and wardens in the Nevada Department…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his sentence following his conviction of three counts of assaulting a federal correctional officer. The sentence was imposed by a judge other than the trial judge, whose unavailability for sentencing…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his pro se complaint under 42 U.S.C. 1983, against certain prison medical providers, alleging that the providers' delay in treating his hernia amounted to deliberate indifference to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In expedited petitions for review, the court considered the allegations of petitioners that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) failed to discharge obligations under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from the denial of habeas relief, the court addressed whether petitioner's Apprendi claim was procedurally defaulted under Oregon's preservation rule. Petitioner failed to raise at the state trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed the district court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus, brought under 28 U.S.C. 2254. Petitioner's grounds for appeal pertained to the prosecution's primary witness, a minor named R.H.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a citizen and national of Mexico, was charged with drug-related crimes. At issue was whether the Confrontation Clause or the Federal Rules of Evidence prohibited the government from introducing at trial a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of five counts relating to child pornography and subsequently appealed his convictions. The court held that the district court did not err in denying defendant's untimely motion to proceed pro se…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed from the district court's orders granting full satisfactions of judgment as to defendants. Defendants were found to have violated plaintiff's civil rights and held liable for damages under 42 U.S.C.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, employees at a defense plant in Arizona, collectively bargained for the right to receive employer-provided healthcare coverage after they retired. At issue was whether those employees, now retirees, were…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, severely disabled California residents, alleged that conventional medical services, drugs, and medications have not alleviated the pain caused by their impairments. Therefore, each plaintiff has obtained a…