United States Ninth Circuit - August 2003 Opinion Summaries

TRACEY v. PALMATEER

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus
Trial court's decision not to further question a juror about bias or to take additional testimony was not an unreasonable application of federal law.

GOLDMAN v. STANDARD INS. CO.

Civil Rights, Labor & Employment Law
Unlike the ADA, the definition of a disability under the Unruh Act, California Civil Code section 51, does not require the plaintiff to show that she...

WANG v. ASHCROFT

Immigration Law
Denial of an application for asylum was erroneous where an adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence; I.N.S. failed...

HOWARD v. BARNHART

Administrative Law, Government Benefits, Health Law
Administrative law judge (ALJ) properly considered a Social Security disability claimant's impairments in combination when assessing her limitations...

KYOCERA CORP. v. PRUDENTIAL-BACHE TRADE SERVS., INC.

Civil Procedure, Contracts, Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
Under the narrow role prescribed for federal courts reviewing arbitral decisions in the Federal Arbitration Act, and because private parties cannot...

THEOFEL v. FAREY-JONES

Communications Law, Consumer Protection Law, Cyberspace Law
Section 2701(c)(1) of the Stored Communications Act does not provide refuge to a defendant who obtains consent by exploiting a known mistake relating...

GILL v. AYERS

Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus, Sentencing
A decision refusing to allow petitioner to testify at a Three Strikes sentencing hearing violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, was...

BINGHAM v. CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH

Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure
A police officer was not entitled to qualified immunity in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action challenging a traffic stop, as no reasonable suspicion...

CITIZENS FOR BETTER FORESTRY v. US DEP'T OF AGRIC.

Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
A coalition of environmental groups alleged procedural injury through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service's failure to comply...

TRANSUE v. AESTHETECH CORP.

Drugs & Biotech, Health Law, Injury & Tort Law, Product Liability
The district court should have instructed on strict liability with respect to appellant's manufacturing defect claim in a suit alleging a defective...