Court upholds California energy crisis manipulation findings
A federal appeals court has upheld an energy commission's finding that power companies manipulated prices during California's energy crisis more than a decade ago.
Category Archives: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
US court upholds ban on gun sales to marijuana card holders
A federal ban on the sale of guns to medical marijuana card holders does not violate the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies to the nine Western states that fall under the court's jurisdiction, including California, Washington and Oregon.
Criminal illegal alien released by DHS and hijacks elderly women
According to the Department of Homeland Security, a Honduran national who was residing in the United States illegally was released because of a "clerical error." Days later, Eduardo Irhneis Escorbar stole a car from two elderly women and then led police on a high-speed chase this month.
Jaycee Dugard can’t sue US parole officials for poor…
Jaycee Dugard can't sue federal parole officials who failed to report parole violations by the man who later kidnapped her and held her captive for 18 years in a shed outside his California home, a federal appeals court has ruled in a published opinion. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Dugard in a 2-1 decision on Friday, report the Orange County Register and Courthouse News Service .
Rule Against Class Arbitration Gutted
The Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that federal labor-relations law doesn't allow an accounting firm to force its employees to arbitrate their issues individually rather than collectively, namely through a class action. Stephen Morris and Kelly McDaniel, former employees of the accounting firm Ernst & Young, filed a class and collective action in federal court in New York, claiming their former employer misclassified them and denied them overtime wages.
Ninth Circuit Finds That Removal of Action to Federal Court Does Not…
In a precedential opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently chose to follow the lead of the Eleventh Circuit, holding that tribes do not waive sovereign immunity merely by removing a case to federal court. This decision provides clarity for tribes within the Ninth Circuit who face certain types of lawsuits filed in state court.
Courts overturn sentences for two California death row inmates and uphold another
The doorway to death row in the North Segregation Unit at San Quentin State Prison is notable for a rounded metal jail door and a sign that clearly marks its purpose. The doorway to death row in the North Segregation Unit at San Quentin State Prison is notable for a rounded metal jail door and a sign that clearly marks its purpose.
How A ‘Nightmare’ Law Could Make Sharing Passwords Illegal
People share passwords all the time. A husband might give his wife his bank account login so she can pay a bill.
It’s Now A Federal Crime To Visit Someone’s Website If They Tell You Not To
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California September 27, 2015. Picture taken February 27, 2015.
Ita s now a federal crime to share your Netflix password
A federal court decision issued last week has made millions of people unwitting criminals, and you're probably one of them. The decision was issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of David Nosal.
Sharing your Netflix details could land you in jail
A controversial new federal court ruling could make sharing your passwords for subscription services a federal crime punishable with prison time. It found certain instances of sharing passwords are prosecutable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act - legislation predominantly concerned with hacking, and described as 'the worst law in technology'.
Michigan man can’t sue Pandora for divulging his tastes
A Michigan man can't sue Pandora for violating his privacy by publicly disclosing his musical preferences on social media because the service is free and the man was therefore not a Pandora customer under state law, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Peter Deacon sued Oakland-based Pandora Media in federal court in California in 2011, alleging the company violated Michigan's Video Rental Privacy Act when it divulged his musical preferences on its website and on Facebook.
U.S. court to hear arguments in warrantless NSA spying case
A U.S. appeals court will weigh a constitutional challenge on Wednesday to a warrantless government surveillance programme brought by an Oregon man found guilty of attempting to detonate a bomb in 2010 during a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. The case before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the first of its kind to consider whether a criminal defendant's constitutional privacy rights are violated under a National Security Agency programme that allows spying on Americans' international phone calls and internet communications.
Replacement of fish-blocking culverts must continue
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on June 27 that culverts that block salmon from more than 1,000 miles of streams in Western Washington violate treaties between Tribal governments and the United States. It's a decision that the state Department of Transportation likely expected, as work began on culvert replacement before the ruling was made; among the places in Kitsap that fish-blocking culverts are being replaced: state routes 3 and 116 in Gorst, and 104 and 307 in North Kitsap.
A look at copyright lawsuits involving hit songs
A federal court jury in Los Angeles has decided that Led Zeppelin did not steal a riff for the intro of its epic hit, " Stairway to Heaven ." Here is a look at some other cases that have taken pop songs from the recording studio to the courtroom over plagiarism allegations.
Rules on GMO crops in Hawaii heads to US appeals court
The fight over regulating genetically engineered crops in three Hawaii counties was back in a federal courtroom as some agricultural giants look to protect their farms from bans against modified food. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Honolulu Wednesday on ordinances that seek to regulate or outlaw genetically engineered crops in Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties.
DEA demanding warrantless access to millions of health records to combat prescription drug abuse
It might have been launched with the best of intentions during the Reagan administration, but the so-called "war on drugs" has been used more times as justification for violating Americans' constitutional rights than it is possible to count. And the government still persists in utilizing anti-drug policy to invade our privacy.
9th Circuit upholds sanction against ‘copyright trolling’ …
A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge's $81,000 sanction against three lawyers who made millions of dollars by pursuing porn downloaders for minor cases of copyright infringement. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sanction imposed against three lawyers who operated Prenda Law: John Steele, Paul Hansmeier and the late Paul Duffy.
Drug makers’ take-back role
Most of us are familiar with the prescription medicine take-back program offered by Snohomish County law enforcement agencies, which allows residents to drop off unused prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications for safe and proper disposal at local police stations. And most of us still have a bottle or more of an unused or expired medication in our medicine cabinets.
Appeals courts agree on concealed weapons ban restrictions
A federal appeals court's decision upholding California's restrictions on carrying concealed weapons gives lawyers a fourth chance to try to get the U.S. Supreme Court's attention on the subject. Thursday's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a law requiring gun applicants to show good reason beyond mere safety.