9th Circuit Court of Appeals (16 summaries)
United States v. Whitney
A breach of a plea agreement by the government occurs when, as part of the plea bargain the government promises (1) not to divulge information disclosed during cooperation with the government and (2) to urge a sentence at the low-end of the guidelines, and then at sentencing the prosecution divulges the admissions and provides arguments for the sentencing judge regarding the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history.
Area(s) of Law:- Sentencing
Moormann v. Schriro
A death row inmate is not entitled to a stay of execution under Atkins when they allege that they have become mentally retarded after the offense, because there is no "clearly established law" that a person who was not mentally retarded at the time of the crime or trial may be immune from capital punishment under Atkins, "because of subsequent mental deterioration."
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
Save The Peaks Coalition v. USFS
A gross abuse of the judicial process occurs and laches apply when "new" plaintiffs appear four years later after litigation had already been commenced by other plaintiffs, however laches does not apply when defendants cannot demonstrate that they have suffered prejudice.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
AE v. County of Tulare
A plaintiff alleging viable state negligence claims and a § 1983 claim must be given the opportunity for leave to amend to meet pleading requirements when the first amended complaint "did not put forth additional facts" regarding "alleged policy, custom, or practice" of a government entity.
Area(s) of Law:- Tort Law
Bowers v. Whitman
Legislation which replaced and modified former legislation regarding the processes in which landowners receive compensation for government land use regulations, does not amount to a "constitutional taking" of property interests under the former legislation, when property interests have not yet vested.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Alston v. Read
State prison officials are entitled to qualified immunity, as there was no clearly established duty for these officials "to seek out original court records in response to a prisoner's unsupported assertion that he was being over-detained."
Area(s) of Law:- Sentencing
Lezama-Garcia v. Holder
An unintentional departure does not constitute abandonment of an alien's NACARA § 202 application to adjust status and that alien cannot be removed until that application is decided.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Campbell v. State of Washington
A government caretaker is not liable under § 1983 when there is not special relationship between the patient and the state, and when the state actors did not take an affirmative act to create a dangerous situation.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Arsdi v. Holder
When an alien fails to raise an issue to the BIA, nor claim that the IJ's decision "contains a factually invalid statement of law or fact," the appellate court has no jurisdiction to consider the claim as the alien did not exhaust the issue in the proper administrative forum.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Carrera v. Ayers
An appellant fails Strickland (which requires "a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance") when defense counsel does not bring a Wheeler objection to challenge a prosecutor's preemptory challenge.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
United States v. Ruiz-Apolonio
A sentencing court did not err when it denied variances requested by a defendant “to compensate for the inclusion of ‘recency’ points and the supposed differences between the Sentencing Commission’s and the Bureau of Prison’s methods for calculation good time credits.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Solis v. State of Washington DSHS
Social workers do not come within the Fair Labor Standards Act “learned professional” exemption for overtime pay because the position requires course work in any of several fields broadly related to the position and does not require a prolonged course of “specialized intellectual instruction.”
Area(s) of Law:- Employment Law
De Osorio v. Mayorkas
Under Chevron, 8 U.S.C. § 1153(5)(3) “is ambiguous as to whether derivative beneficiaries of F3 and F4 family preference petitions are entitled to automatic conversion or priority date retention,” therefore, “aged-out aliens” of lawful permanent residents are not entitled to automatic conversion or priority date retention.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Rickley v. County of Los Angeles
Under the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. § 1988, “a plaintiff who is represented by her attorney-spouse in a successful civil rights action may be awarded ‘a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs.'"
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Law
Dougherty v. City of Covina
A search warrant lacks probable cause when “the only evidence linking the suspect’s attempted child molestation to possession of child pornography is the experience of the requesting police officer, with no further explanation.” Because the Ninth Circuit “ha[d] not previously addressed this question” the officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
United States v. McCarty
A TSA screener’s search of checked luggage occurs “within the scope of the ongoing lawful administrative search” when the discovery of contraband coincides with the search for explosives and safety hazards.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure