9th Circuit Court

Federal judges OK same-sex marriage in Arizona and Wyoming; SCOTUS declines Alaska stay

Barriers to same-sex marriages were removed by federal courts in three more states Friday. Federal district judges struck bans in Arizona and Wyoming and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of an earlier ruling by a federal judge in Alaska, Reuters reports. Assuming a temporary stay in…

Oct 17, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Liberal 9th Circuit judges appear to get gay-rights cases in disproportionate numbers, brief asserts

A Nevada group seeking to uphold a ban on gay marriages is using statistics to assert that a federal appeals court does not appear to be selecting judges hearing gay-rights cases in a neutral way. The Coalition for Protection of Marriage questioned the neutrality of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.…

Oct 14, 2014 7:55 AM CDT

Same-sex marriage allowed in Idaho after SCOTUS and 9th Circuit lift stays

Gay marriages could begin on Wednesday in Idaho after stays were lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court and then the by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit lifted its stay on Monday before lawyers representing gay couples submitted briefs in opposition to the state’s…

Oct 14, 2014 7:22 AM CDT

Lawyer is federally indicted in heroin case, had $90K seized at airport

A California lawyer has been federally indicted in a heroin trafficking case in Las Vegas and lost $90,000 in cash when authorities seized the money from him at an Ohio airport earlier this year. Glen Hunsberger, 46, and two co-defendants were charged Tuesday by a grand jury with conspiracy to…

Oct 9, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

9th Circuit strikes down same-sex marriage bans; SCOTUS rejects Idaho’s stay request

Updated: The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Tuesday that same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada are unconstitutional. The Washington Post, the Associated Press and CNN have stories. The court found that the bans violate the rights of same-sex couples to equal protection under the…

Oct 7, 2014 5:24 PM CDT

Federal judge axes Fox Rothschild in hacking case because firm represented a claimed victim company

A well-known Philadelphia-based law firm is conflicted out of representing the son of a Russian parliament member in a criminal hacking case, a federal judge in Seattle ruled Friday. That’s because the firm, Fox Rothschild, also has represented one of the many corporate victims from which the scheme—that prosecutors say…

Sep 26, 2014 3:20 PM CDT

Ex-judge likely headed to prison is expected to get pension of up to $150K annually

A Nevada judge agreed to give up his seat on the bench and his law license last week when he took a plea in a federal wire fraud conspiracy case. But Steven Jones will retain his pension, because there is no provision under Nevada state law for forfeiture, writes a…

Sep 25, 2014 1:25 PM CDT

Woman punched by highway patrol officer in videotaped incident will get $1.5M settlement

A 51-year-old woman who was punched repeatedly by a uniformed California Highway Patrol officer alongside a freeway earlier this year has agreed to accept a $1.5 million settlement. The officer will resign. The July 1 incident was captured on video by a passing motorist, and CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow, who…

Sep 25, 2014 11:25 AM CDT

NCIS trolling for child porn offenders violates Posse Comitatus regulations, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has tossed evidence of child pornography because it was obtained as a result of a broad online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, violating policies and regulations banning military enforcement of civilian laws. The Sept. 12 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court…

Sep 22, 2014 9:11 AM CDT

9th Circuit OKs one late habeas filing, nixes another, says both inmates abandoned by same lawyer

Updated: For the second time in one week, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling in an inmate’s case seeking to have an untimely habeas petition heard. Both times, the inmate blamed the delayed filing on an appellate lawyer who they say didn’t do…

Sep 17, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Judge plans to take plea in case over $3M investment-fraud scheme, his lawyer says

Suspended from the bench with pay in 2012 after he and five other defendants were federally indicted in a claimed $3 million investment fraud scheme, a Nevada family court judge is now on the verge of taking a plea. The docket shows Judge Steven Jones, 56, is scheduled to plead…

Sep 15, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

9th Circuit resurrects alien tort suit claiming companies aided child slavery overseas

A federal appeals court has resurrected an alien tort suit filed by former child slaves who claim three corporations aided Ivory Coast cocoa farmers who kept children in captivity. The decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a district court ruling dismissing the complaint…

Sep 12, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Los Angeles to pay $725K to lawyers in homeless rights case

In the wake of losses in two federal appellate cases concerning policies that discouraged homeless individuals from living on the streets of Los Angeles, the city has decided to drop its U.S. Supreme Court appeal of an attorney’s fees award in one of the cases. In a Wednesday vote, the…

Sep 11, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Clients invested $47M in immigration lawyer’s ethanol plant hoping to get US green cards, feds say

A California immigration lawyer is facing criminal charges for allegedly operating a scheme in which 94 foreigners invested $47 million to construct a Kansas ethanol plant in the hope of qualifying for a green card allowing them to legally reside in the United States In addition to the federal wire…

Sep 4, 2014 10:50 AM CDT

Record $1.4B fine levied against gas company in fatal explosion and fire

A record $1.4 billion safety fine has been imposed by the California Public Utilities Commission concerning a 2010 gas pipeline rupture, explosion and fire that killed eight people, injured dozens of others and destroyed 38 homes in a San Bruno neighborhood. The penalty against Pacific Gas & Electric follows determinations…

Sep 3, 2014 11:05 AM CDT