9th Circuit March 2012 News

The economy continues to struggle, and the unemployment rate remains around 8.3 percent. It seems like the Obama administration would welcome new and inventive ways to put extra cash in Americans' pockets. Instead, the Department of Justice (DOJ) wants the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to backtrack on a revenue stream that it approved in December.

Last year, the Ninth Circuit ruled that people can legally sell blood stem cells, a critical component of bone marrow. The Obama administration, concerned that compensation could influence donation decisions, asked the court to reconsider its position, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The Obama administration isn't technically involved in the Defense of Marriage (DOMA) appeal that's making its way up the federal court ladder, but it wants the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to act quickly on the case.

This week, the Department of Justice asked the Ninth Circuit the speed up review of Judge Jeffrey White's February decision declaring DOMA unconstitutional, and to apply strict or immediate scrutiny to its DOMA analysis, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Remember that 2006 Orange County scandal with Tan Nguyen, the wannabe congressman who sent letters to Latino immigrant voters to discourage them from voting? Well, it’s almost over.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that federal prosecutors were permitted to use fruits of a state search to support federal obstruction of justice charges against Nguyen, finding that there was probable cause for the search warrant.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is once again taking its act to the road. Next week, a three-judge panel from the court will hear oral arguments at two Arizona law schools.

Circuit Judges Jay S. Bybee of Las Vegas, Richard R. Clifton of Honolulu, and M. Margaret McKeown of San Diego, will hear appeals of decisions from the district courts for Nevada and Arizona during both sittings. While the hearings are open to the public, a photo ID is required to enter the courtrooms.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a graduate student may pursue her Title IX retaliation claim against the University of Oregon.

A district court previously granted summary judgment to the University on the alternative grounds that the student did not engage in protected activity and that she adduced no evidence showing that the University's adverse actions were causally related to her protected activity.

The Supreme Court rejected a religious discrimination appeal this week from Christian organizations seeking funding and campus benefits from San Diego State University (SDSU), reports Inside Higher Ed.

The groups, Alpha Delta Chi and Alpha Gamma Omega, were asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' August 2011 decision in Alpha Delta Chi v. Reed.

What happens in Vegas certainly will not stay in Vegas when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Monday, March 19, 2012 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Boyd School of Law.

The Ninth Circuit will hear arguments in the school's Thomas & Mack Moot Courtroom beginning at 10 a.m.

For 10 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) tried to strip the northern Rocky Mountains' gray wolves of their Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection. FWS repeatedly failed.

Congress, unlike FWS, isn't bound by the Administrative Procedures Act, so Rep. Mike Simpson (R-IA) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) got the job done by creating a new law. The pair attached a rider, Section 1713, to the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011, which removed the wolves' ESA protection.

Because what better way is there to promote wolf-killing than through a defense budget bill?

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that Millennium Bomber Ahmed Ressam’s 22-year sentence was not enough time to fit the crime.

A split 11-judge panel reversed and remanded Ressam’s case for resentencing, reports Reuters.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a district court improperly excluded evidence from a civil rights trial examining the effects of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's pink underwear policy on a mentally-ill suspect.

Police in Maricopa County detained Eric Vogel while investigating a burglary in 2001. Vogel was arrested for assaulting a police officer in an ensuing struggle. At the Phoenix jail, which Arpaio runs, Vogel was diagnosed as disoriented, paranoid, and psychotic, and placed on psychiatric hold.

Should a chief circuit judge lose his post for sending a racist email?

Last month, Richard Cebull, the chief district judge in Montana, forwarded a racist joke about President Barack Obama and his mother from his official government email address to six friends. Several forwards later, the "joke" found its way into a reporter's inbox. Judge Cebull apologized, and asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review whether his actions qualify as judicial misconduct.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that the Bureau of Prisons may continue to forcibly medicate Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner with antipsychotic drugs, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court approved forced medication for Loughner because he poses a threat to himself and others.

Need further proof that the Prop 8 litigants can't agree on anything?

In February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in Perry v. Brown that California Prop 8 was unconstitutional. Two weeks later, Prop 8 proponents ProtectMarriage asked the Ninth Circuit for en banc rehearing of the case.

Now, the Prop 8 opponents are asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to deny rehearing.

It seems that the U.S. government can prosecute money.

In a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, U.S. v. $133.420.00 in U.S. Currency, the San Francisco-based court ruled that Damon Louis, the currency’s co-defendant, did not have standing to challenge a civil forfeiture action for the sum, which was found in Louis’ car.