United States Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit re-states its "abuse of discretion" standard of review, which now requires it to: 1) consider whether the district court identified the correct legal standard for decision of the issue before it; and 2) determine whether the district court's findings of fact, and its application of those findings of fact to the correct legal standard, were illogical, implausible, or without support in inferences that could be drawn from facts in the record. Defendant's murder for hire conviction is affirmed where, applying the re-stated standard, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for a new trial.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/16/2008
• Decided 11/05/2009
• Published 11/05/2009

Judges

• Before:  ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, HARRY PREGERSON, DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD, KIM McLANE WARDLAW, W. FLETCHER, RICHARD A. PAEZ, CONSUELO M. CALLAHAN, CARLOS T. BEA, SANDRA S. IKUTA and N. RANDY SMITH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Dennis P. Riordan and Donald M. Horgan, San Francisco, CA, and Curtis R. Smith, Idaho Falls, ID, for the defendant-appellant., John F. De Pue and Michael D. Taxay, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the plaintiff-appellee.