2013 Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs alleged that they purchased billions of dollars worth of mobile handsets containing defendants' LCD panels and that the prices they paid for those handsets were artificially inflated because defendants had…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants pled guilty to one count of receipt of stolen mail and one count of mail theft. During the 2010 holiday season, defendants drove through neighborhoods on "Christmas shopping" trips in search of packages on…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from plaintiffs' complaint asserting state and federal causes of action against eight defendants. At issue on appeal was the district court's award of attorney's fees and costs to Plaintiff Joseph…

Justia Opinion Summary: Good News appealed from the district court's determination on remand from the Ninth Circuit that the Town's ordinance restricting the size, duration, and location of temporary directional signs did not discriminate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant plead guilty to aggravated identity theft and two other counts in connection with an ATM skimming scheme. On appeal, defendant argued that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32 extended the district court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the City and two of its police officers, in his 42 U.S.C. 1983 action. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that the police officers retaliated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts upon his stepdaughter, and of attempting to dissuade her from reporting those acts to the police. Petitioner filed a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). Defendant argued that the Supreme Court's decision in Flores-Figueroa v. United States effectively…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Filipino World War II veterans and their widows, contended that their Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection were violated by a statute establishing the Filipino Veterans Equity…

Justia Opinion Summary: Multistar, a for-hire motor carrier engaged in the business of transporting hazardous materials, petitioned for review of FMCSA's order to cease operations, and, in a separate petition for review, challenged the agency's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought review of the BIA's affirmation of the IJ's conclusion that petitioner's application for cancellation of removal was abandoned after petitioner's counsel did not file the application on time. The BIA…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed from the district court's denial of her 28 U.S.C 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner contended that the California Court of Appeal unreasonably applied clearly established Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction for abusive sexual contact in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1153 and 244, and contested the portion of his sentence imposing a lifetime term of supervised release and several conditions of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of charges stemming from the brutal beating of his wife, petitioned for review of the district court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner claimed that his conviction for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs contended that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., and its own regulations, 43…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner petitioned for review of the BIA's denial of his application for adjustment of status and its denial of his motion to reopen based on new evidence. The BIA concluded that petitioner was ineligible for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and thirty counts of money laundering. On appeal, defendant challenged the portion of his sentence that imposed forfeiture and restitution.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought a 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit against officials from the California State Prison, alleging constitutional violations relating to his six-day placement on contraband watch. Plaintiff was placed on contraband…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine with the intent to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. At issue was whether a witness's testimony in disguise at trial violated the Confrontation Clause. The witness was a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Prius owners, brought a putative class action suit against Toyota, alleging that they experienced defects in their anti-lock brake systems (ABS), resulting in increased stopping distances. On appeal, Toyota…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a citizen of Mexico and lawful permanent resident of the United States, petitioned for review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's order of removal. Petitioner had pled guilty to false imprisonment in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, investors in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, brought a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 2674 et seq., action against the SEC and the Government. On appeal, the court held that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mattel filed suit against MGA, claiming that MGA infringed Mattel's copyrights by producing Bratz dolls. On appeal, Mattel challenged the jury's verdict that Mattel misappropriated MGA's trade secrets and the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. 1153, which provided for federal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed by Indians in Indian country. The court held that the Tribal Enrollment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Bangladesh, petitioned for review of the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's determination that petitioner was ineligible for withholding of removal and withholding under the Convention…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff alleged that defendants, correctional officers at the prison where he was incarcerated at the time of the alleged occurrence, violated his Eighth Amendment rights by spraying him with an excessive quantity of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a California resident, brought a putative class action against ADT in California Superior Court, alleging that ADT recorded his telephone conversation with an ADT representative without his consent in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to reentry as a removed alien without a plea agreement. The district court included a crime of violence sentencing enhancement based on its conclusion that defendant's prior Washington State…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner sought innocent spouse relief, claiming that she did not understand the nature of her husband's business and claiming ignorance of his fraudulent actions regarding his tax liabilities. At issue was how the Tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty to third degree rape under Oregon law in December 1999. In 2002, he pleaded guilty for failing to register as a sex offender and voluntarily left the country some time…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted for failing to appear in violation of 18 U.S.C. 3146 and subsequently appealed his sentence of 27 months' imprisonment. At issue was which subsection of 18 U.S.C. 3146(b)(1)(A) established the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant allegedly traveled to Mexico and engaged in illicit sexual conduct involving a minor, the government indicted defendant on one count of violating 18 U.S.C. 2423(c) and, because he was under a state-law…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of her former employer, Montblanc, and its President and CEO, Jan-Patrick Schmitz. The court concluded that Montblanc demonstrated that plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents appealed the district court's grant of habeas corpus to petitioner pursuant to the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. 2254. Petitioner was convicted of first degree…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a dispute between the government and the county concerning the clean up of an abandoned landfill. The government entered into a consent decree with the county and the county then moved to modify…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a dispute over the character Superman that Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster jointly created and thereafter gave rights to DC Comic's predecessor. Defendants appealed the district court's denial of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitioned for review of the BIA's holding that his conviction for simple kidnapping under California Penal Code (CPC) 207(a) was categorically a crime involving moral…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a juvenile male, was charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Defendant was seventeen years old at the time of the alleged offenses. On appeal, defendant challenged the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, convicted of robbery/murder and sentenced to death, appealed the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, defendant raised several claims regarding prosecutorial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of knowingly possessing a biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon. On appeal, defendant challenged the denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to vacate a sentence. The court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Sideman, the legal representative for a taxpayer who was under criminal investigation by the IRS, appealed from the district court's order enforcing an IRS administrative summons to produce the taxpayer's documents.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action claiming that defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs related to dental care. On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's judgment as a matter of law…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for felony and misdemeanor assault. Defendant challenged his conviction on due-process grounds, claiming his constitutional rights were violated where the prosecution…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged the Forest Service's decision adopting the modified Idaho Roadless Rule. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants and adopted the district court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, four Chinese nationals, appealed their convictions and sentences for federal crimes that they committed as part of a scheme to steal funds from the Bank of China, where two of the defendants were high-level…