9th Circuit Court of Appeals (30 summaries)
Chubb Custom Ins. v. Space Systems/Loral
An insurer cannot make a subrogation claim under §107(a) of CERCLA, and must allege the insured is a “claimant” in order to make a claim under §112(c) of CERCLA.
Area(s) of Law:- Environmental Law
Henriquez-Rivas v. Holder
For purposes of seeking asylum, the "social visibility" requirement of “membership in a social group” refers to "perception" and does not require "on-sight" visibility, and those who have publicly testified against gang members in court meet the social visibility requirement.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Hurles v. Ryan
A petitioner is entitled to an evidentiary hearing in a state court post-conviction relief (PCR) claim of judicial bias when the judge who presided over the trial, sentencing, and PCR hearing "makes factual findings [in the PCR case] without an evidentiary hearing or other opportunity for the petitioner to present evidence."
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
United States v. Valdavinos-Torres
Possession of a controlled substance for sale under state law is a deportable offense under federal law where the conviction record, including the indictment, the plea agreement, the transcript of the plea proceeding, minute entry, or the judgment, indicates the substance is a controlled substance under federal law.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
In re: Scholz
The use of “anticipated” in the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 has a trust law meaning, and annuities under such act are included in calculating projected disposable income for purposes of Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans.
Area(s) of Law:- Bankruptcy Law
Lair v. Bullock
A stay of a district court order is appropriate under the four Nken factors when an appellate court has previously ruled on a “virtually indistinguishable” challenge to the constitutionality of a state statute, and the only intervening circumstance is a Supreme Court opinion that lacks both a majority opinion and concurring opinions decided under a consistent rationale.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil
Where Congress has displaced a cause of action under the federal common law, displacement extends to all potential remedies. The Clean Air Act displaces the federal common law cause of action for nuisance caused by the emission of green house gases.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
United States v. Williams
At sentencing, charges may be grouped under § 3D1.2 if they involve substantially the same harm directed at the same victim. "Indirect or secondary victims are not meant to be included in the term 'victim.'"
Area(s) of Law:- Sentencing
In re Flores
In a Chapter 13 plan, the reorganization period for an above-median-income debtor may be less than five years when projected disposable income is zero or negative. The Supreme Court's decision in Lanning did not overrule Ninth Circuit precedent in Kagenveama as it pertains to determining the applicable commitment period in Chapter 13 plans.
Area(s) of Law:- Bankruptcy Law
Grand Canyon Trust v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation's annual operating plan for a dam is not a discretionary act or a "major Federal action" and does not require consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, nor an environmental impact statement or an environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Area(s) of Law:- Environmental Law
Patel v. City of Los Angeles
A municipal code requiring hotel operators to retain and make available certain guest information is not facially unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
United States v. CB & I Constructors, Inc.
Intangible environmental damages caused by a negligently set wildfire are included in property damage under California law.
Area(s) of Law:- Tort Law
United States v. Elkins
Sex offender registration requirements based on an offense committed by a juvenile before the passage of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) do not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause when state registration requirements at the time of the conviction require substantially similar disclosures.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Wilhelm v. Rotman
A party’s written consent to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge continues when a new magistrate is substituted for the initial magistrate assigned to the case.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
Padilla v. Yoo
A government official is entitled to qualified immunity unless, at the time of their actions, the law is "sufficiently clear that every reasonable government official would have understood that what he was doing violated the plaintiff's rights."
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Law
Brown v. Ahern
A federal district court shall abstain from exercising jurisdiction over a pre-conviction habeas petition asserting a Speedy Trial claim as an affirmative defense to state prosecution, except in “cases of extraordinary circumstances.”
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
Phillips v. Ornoski
A prosecutor violates his or her duty to correct false testimony under Napue when he or she makes a deal with the attorney of a key witness, asks the attorney not to disclose the deal to the witness, then use the witness’s testimony and lack of direct knowledge of the deal as evidence that the prosecution made no promise in exchange for their testimony.
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
United States v. Loughner
A pre-trial detainee, while under commitment to try and render him competent to stand trial, may be forcibly medicated under Harper because he is dangerous to himself or others.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
Turtle Island Restoration Network v. US Dep't of State
A certification process that gives rise to an allegation on an annual basis does not defeat claim preclusion each year when a party has already had an opportunity to litigate the issue.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
United States v. Kimsey
Title 18 U.S.C. § 402 creates a statutory right to a jury trial in a criminal contempt proceeding, and a violation of local court rules, “cannot serve as a predicate for criminal convictions under that statute.”
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
In Matter of Thorpe Insulation Co.
When a bankruptcy court finds a contract dispute to be a “core proceeding” in a bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy court may use its discretion to find an arbitration agreement in that contract unenforceable.
Area(s) of Law:- Bankruptcy Law
United States v. Havelock
Under 18 USC § 867(c), a mailed communication containing a threat must be directed to a natural person; a court may look beyond the outside of the parcel to the contents of the letter or package to determine to whom, if anybody, such a threat is addressed.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Romero-Mendoza v. Holder
The 1983 Salvadoran constitutional amendment "eliminating legitimacy distinctions served to legitimate any child born out of wedlock."
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Flynn v. Holder
Compensation for “hematopoietic stems cells” is not a violation of the National Organ Transplant Act.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Garcia v. Holder
Immigrants paroled into the United States as a "Special Immigrant Juvenile, under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(h), qualif[y] as [admitted] ‘in any status’ for the purposes of 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(2)."
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Doe v. Busby
A jury instruction that “impermissibly lowers the burden of proof” requires structural error review.
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
United States v. Alvarez-Moreno
An issue of double jeopardy arises when, after a guilty verdict in a bench trial, a judge orders a new trial after recognition that the defendant did not properly waive his right to a trial by jury.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
United States v. Lafley
A supervised release condition that prohibits the use of a controlled substance by a convicted drug felon does not violate the Religious Freedom Reformation Act because it serves a compelling government interest using the least restrictive means.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Barnes v. USDOT
The addition of an airport runway raises "substantial questions [ ] as to whether a project [ ] may cause significant degradation of some human environmental factor," including indirect effects from increased demand.
Area(s) of Law:- Environmental Law
United States v. Della Porta
A judge does not abuse his discretion or unduly influence a jury when he allows supplemental closing arguments without identifying specific issues that have deadlocked a jury.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure