9th Circuit Court

ABA Joins Law Firm’s Call for Top Court Review of Grand Jury Power to Get Lawyer-Client Info

The American Bar Association today filed an amicus brief (PDF) in support of White & Case’s request for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court. It seeks review of a federal appellate court’s rule that grand jury subpoenas trump protective orders even when confidential attorney-client information is sought…

Apr 20, 2011 11:05 PM CDT

Threat Level: What’s Lower Than a Copyright Troll? A Sham Copyright Troll Licensed to Litigate

No fan of so-called copyright or patent trolls that litigate over purchased intellectual property rights, a law blog has discovered that it is possible, in its moral scheme of things, to sink even lower. A “copyright litigation factory,” known as Righthaven, doesn’t even own the copyrighted newspaper articles at issue…

Apr 19, 2011 10:11 PM CDT

Prop 8 Supporters Object to Judge Showing Trial Clip at Speech

Sponsors of Proposition 8, the California same-sex marriage ban that was struck down in federal court, are upset that the trial judge showed a video clip of the trial at the University of Arizona during a speech that advocated cameras in the courtroom. Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited a…

Apr 14, 2011 3:08 PM CDT

Barry Bonds Convicted of Obstruction, Jury Split on Three Perjury Charges

Corrected: Home-run champion Barry Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice yesterday by a federal jury in San Francisco, but the jury was split on three perjury charges related to his alleged use of steroids while playing on Major League Baseball teams. A holdout juror apparently saved him from a…

Apr 14, 2011 12:26 PM CDT

Howrey Creditors Seek Involuntary Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for Law Firm

Three creditors to whom Howrey allegedly owes a total of less than $40,000 have filed a petition in the Northern District of California seeking an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy for Howrey, reports the Am Law Daily. The law firm dissolved last month following an attorney exodus. Bankruptcy partner Peter Gilhuly…

Apr 13, 2011 12:30 PM CDT

Law Grad Agrees Not to Auction Sirhan Papers After RFK Killer’s Counsel Argues Parole Issue

A law school graduate has agreed not to auction papers he obtained from convicted Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan after the inmate’s lawyer said they could be critical to his client’s parole effort and threatened to sue to prevent the sale. Would-be seller Michael McCowan is now a 78-year-old…

Apr 13, 2011 11:58 AM CDT

9th Circuit Says No to Tossing Facebook Settlement

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, twin brothers who claim that Facebook was their idea, lost their federal appeal today to strike a settlement they reached about the social media site, founded by their former Harvard University classmate Mark Zuckerberg. According to Bloomberg, the parties in 2008 agreed to settle for $65…

Apr 11, 2011 7:58 PM CDT

9th Circuit Upholds Stay on Arizona Immigration Law

A U.S. district court judge did not abuse her discretion in blocking portions of Arizona’s 2010 law that aims to identify, prosecute and deport undocumented immigrants, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. According to the Associated Press the law, known as the Support Our Law…

Apr 11, 2011 7:20 PM CDT

Proposition 8 Judge: Being Gay Wasn’t Relevant and Didn’t Require Recusal

The now-retired federal judge who struck down California’s ban on gay marriages says he never considered recusing himself because he is gay. Former U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker didn’t confirm his sexual orientation when the San Francisco Chronicle disclosed he was gay during the trial, the Keen News Service reports.…

Apr 7, 2011 2:06 PM CDT

Reports: Supremes Skeptical About Allowing Massive Wal-Mart Class Action to Proceed

Whether to allow the largest class action sex-discrimination case ever, against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to go forward was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court today. And, although the New York Times said the justices seemed evenly divided on the question, other news stories reported that they were skeptical about allowing…

Mar 29, 2011 7:56 PM CDT

2 Informants Helped FBI Make Case in Alleged Plot to Kill Top Alaska Federal Judge, Court Docs Say

Two confidential informants helped the FBI bring a criminal case against defendants accused of plotting together to kill the top federal judge in Alaska. Both informants were paid for their help in pursuing the criminal case against those who allegedly planned to harm Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline and…

Mar 29, 2011 5:59 PM CDT

Onetime ICE Lawyer Gets 17 Years for Taking Bribes

A former assistant chief counsel for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for taking bribes to help immigrants fill out false paperwork to remain legally in this country. Constantine Peter Kallas, 40, was sentenced today during a closed hearing in federal…

Mar 21, 2011 7:28 PM CDT

Supreme Court Slaps 9th Circuit for ‘Inexplicable’ Decision in Batson Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a per curiam decision that hits the San Francisco appellate court for an “inexplicable” three-paragraph decision finding that a prosecutor wrongfully dismissed two blacks from the jury panel. The Supreme Court ruled (PDF) in Felkner v.…

Mar 21, 2011 2:59 PM CDT

US Alleges Plot to Kidnap, Murder, Burn Homes re Top Alaska Federal Judge, His Wife, Multiple Others

Developing: New charges in a case against five defendants accused of crimes related to an alleged conspiracy to kill the top federal judge in Alaska and his wife describe an expanded claimed plan to kidnap, kill and burn the homes of multiple judges, state troopers and an Internal Revenue Service…

Mar 18, 2011 5:58 PM CDT

Kozinski’s ‘Ornery’ Panel Dissent Carries the Day in En Banc Headscarf Ruling

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit by a Muslim woman forced to remove her scarf in a courthouse holding cell in California. The en banc 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco said the federal law protecting prisoners’ religious rights also applies to courthouse detentions,…

Mar 16, 2011 3:20 PM CDT