9th Circuit Court

9th Circuit ‘all but ignored’ aggravating factors in death-penalty case, Supreme Court says

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Thursday against an Arizona death row inmate’s quest to change the sentence that he received by presenting additional mitigating evidence about his psychological problems and childhood abuse.

May 30, 2024 1:01 PM CDT

Litigation continues in federal actions alleging fraud with LDS tithings

Updated: The complaint states that between 1993 and 2017, Huntsman donated 10% of his annual income to the church, which amounted to millions, and was misled to think the money would not be used to finance commercial projects.

May 23, 2024 1:42 PM CDT

Ban on gun possession by felons is unconstitutional as applied to some offenders, 9th Circuit rules

In a 2-1 decision, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court said the federal ban on gun possession is unconstitutional as applied to a nonviolent offender who had served his prison time.

May 13, 2024 3:15 PM CDT

Federal judge reprimanded for handcuffing teen spectator in scared-straight approach

A federal judge who ordered a defendant’s daughter handcuffed to warn her about the consequences of drug use has been reprimanded by the judicial council of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco.

May 2, 2024 10:58 AM CDT

10 temporary federal judgeships would become permanent under Senate bill approved on voice vote

The U.S. Senate on Saturday approved by voice vote a bipartisan bill that would make permanent 10 temporary federal district court judgeships.

Apr 23, 2024 9:36 AM CDT

Supreme Court divided over homeless ban and rights of the unhoused

Supreme Court justices expressed concern on Monday about punishing homeless people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go, while also struggling with how to ensure local and state leaders have flexibility to deal with the growing number of unhoused individuals nationwide.

Apr 22, 2024 2:35 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether criminalizing homelessness violates Eighth Amendment

Few doubt that the court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson will be consequential for the nation’s homeless population and for those trying to help. “This case is really about whether the Constitution protects unhoused people against punishment when there is no shelter or housing available to them.”

Apr 18, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Will SCOTUS consider it cruel and unusual punishment to prosecute homeless people for sleeping in public?

Can a city make it a crime for unhoused people to sleep in public if there are no other places for them to go? On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this issue in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, a case of enormous interest to the many cities that are struggling with burgeoning populations of unhoused people.

Apr 15, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

9th Circuit revives suit to register racehorse as ‘Malpractice Meuser,’ thought to be lawyer jab

A racehorse owner who claims that a First Amendment right to register the name of his thoroughbred as “Malpractice Meuser” can proceed with his federal lawsuit as a result of a federal appeals court's decision.

Feb 28, 2024 2:51 PM CST

Qualified immunity shield may depend on size and publication rate of federal appeals court, new report says

Qualified immunity “protects officials too much and our rights too little,” according to a new report by the Institute for Justice based on an analysis of more than 5,500 federal appeals decisions over an 11-year period.

Feb 7, 2024 8:47 AM CST

Do state abortion bans conflict with federal Medicare funding law? Delegates take a position

Resolution 507 opposes all legislation, regulations, administrative interpretations and litigation that restrict the right of health care providers or hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide patients with abortions in emergency situations.

Feb 5, 2024 6:03 PM CST

Does banning camping by homeless people violate Eighth Amendment? Supreme Court agrees to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the U.S. Constitution prevents the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, from issuing civil citations to people who violate a ban on sleeping on public property.

Jan 16, 2024 10:09 AM CST

Judge sticks with $268K sanction for fake news article lawyer filed with appeals court

A federal judge in California is requiring a Seattle lawyer to pay $251,000 in attorney fees and nearly $17,000 in interest for filing a fake news story with a federal appeals court in San Francisco.

Jan 10, 2024 8:18 AM CST

Supreme Court once again ‘leapfrogging’ appeals court in decision to hear Idaho emergency abortion case

For 15 years, the U.S. Supreme Court did not grant a single petition for certiorari before judgment, which asks the high court hear a case before a federal appeals court weighs in.

Jan 8, 2024 12:35 PM CST

9th Circuit reinstates suit by now-grown-up Nirvana album-cover baby

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed that he was a victim of child pornography because he appeared naked on Nirvana’s 1991 grunge album cover Nevermind when he was a baby.

Dec 22, 2023 11:37 AM CST