United States Ninth Circuit - Opinion Summaries

PHILLIPS v. GEN. MOTORS CORP.

Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Injury & Tort Law
District court failed to conduct a "good cause" analysis in considering a protective order on confidential settlement information, thus remand is...

CHEN v. ASHCROFT

Civil Rights, Immigration Law
Denial of an application for asylum and withholding of deportation was improper where appellant demonstrated sufficient evidence of his fear of being...

JENNINGS v. WOODWARD

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure
Conviction and death sentence reversed where no reasonable tactical decision motivated defense attorney's complete failure to investigate and present,...

US v. MA

Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
Trial court and prosecutor's failure to engage in proper colloquy with money launderer as to whether she understood her plea agreement and rights...

BERKLA v. COREL CORP.

Contracts, Injury & Tort Law, Intellectual Property, Copyright, Remedies
A punitive damages award in a breach of confidence claim, against a software company for its use of image file databases similar to appellant's, is...

LITI v. COMM'R OF INTERNAL REVENUE

Sanctions, Tax Law
Where tax court denied appellants' motions for sanctions and costs, finding that the IRS was "substantially justified" in filing tax fraud charges...

US v. ROSALES-RODRIGUEZ

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure
Where judge informed a jury that if they were still deliberating at the end of the day, an alternate juror would be called and deliberations would...

MCGHAN v. RUTZ

Bankruptcy Law, Civil Procedure, Debt Collection
State courts lack 1) jurisdiction to determine whether a listed and scheduled creditor received adequate notice of discharge proceedings and 2)...

US v. BUCKLAND

Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
21 USC 841(b)(1)(A),(B), which increases the basic 20-year maximum sentence for trafficking in certain drugs, regardless of quantity, does not violate...

CARRINGTON ESTATE PLANNING SERV. v. RELIANCE STANDARD LIFE INS. CO.

Contracts, Insurance Law
Where an insurance policy is a contract of adhesion, a notice provision is part of the conditions requiring proof of claim filed within a certain time...