California Appellate Report: Federal Judiciary

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Federal Judiciary Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Federal Judiciary

California Appellate Report

Commentary on recent Ninth Circuit.
By Shaun Martin

Post Frequency: 4.3/day

Last Entry: November 04, 2020 at 16:52:00

Las Vegas Sands LLC v. Nehme (9th Cir. - Jan. 11, 2011)

Posted on January 11, 2011
Here's a potential moneymaking strategy:Go to Vegas. Take out a credit application at a casino and a huge marker: say, half a million dollars. Gamble a tiny bit and then turn in the funds.Go back home. Have your attorney write an unsigned letter telling the casino not to give you any more markers and to cancel your credit line...

People v. Sharret (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 10, 2011)

Posted on January 10, 2011
"Defendant, Tyrone Sharret, appeals from his conviction for possession for sale (count 1) and sale (count 2) of heroin. . . . Defendant gave heroin to another person. That person in turn handed the heroin to another individual. That individual handed the heroin to an undercover police officer...

Dawson v. Entek Int'l (9th Cir. - Jan. 10, 2011)

Posted on January 10, 2011
I know that Mr. Dawson wins the appeal. So he's assuredly happy. But I still found it somewhat strange that Judge Bury (sitting by designation from Arizona) begins the opinion with: "Shane Dawson (Dawson), a male homosexual, appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment ...

People v. Wilkins (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 7, 2011)

Posted on January 07, 2011
This opinion is a classic example of the felony murder rule. It should be in every first-year textbook on criminal law.That's not a compliment.Cole Wilkins sneaks onto a deserted construction site late at night, piles some construction materials (light fixtures, applicances, a sink, etc...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

People v. Sigala (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 6, 2011)

Posted on January 07, 2011
I had two reactions to this case. Both of which I thought entirely appropriate.The first was visceral. Eeeewwww! How sick do you have to be to repeatedly molest your own granddaughter? How even more perverse do you have to be to repeatedly molest four of your own granddaughter? And how utterly, utterly twisted do you have to be to take a photograph of you molesting one of your granddaughters and with your penis in her twelve-year-old mouth...

U.S. v. Carona (9th Cir. - Jan. 6, 2011)

Posted on January 06, 2011
When I read an opinion, I typically look quickly at the caption and then start in on the text. I don't look at the district court or the lawyers or the author. I try to evaluate the argument on the merits, and then go back and see who wrote the thing, who the district court was, etc...

People v. Cua (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan 3, 2011)

Posted on January 05, 2011
Here's a guy I'm glad is in prison. Most likely for the rest of his life.It's a double murder. Husband and wife. After (presumably) they found out that the defendant had been embezzling $200,000+ from them over the past several years...

Byrd v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Dept. (9th Cir. - Jan. 5, 2011)

Posted on January 05, 2011
Let's do a brief quiz.The question is whether it's okay for a woman to strip search a pretrial (unconvicted) detainee in a minimum security prison who's a man. It's not a cavity search or anything like that, but the guy does have to wear thin boxer shorts (and nothing else) as the woman pulls out his waistband...

Jewish War Veterans v. City of San Diego (9th Cir. - Jan. 4, 2011)

Posted on January 04, 2011
There are about a million opinions about the constitutionality of the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego. I don't just mean in the minds of the many people who know about this litigation. There are also, like, a million actual opinions. The case has gone on for over twenty years...

People v. Lieng (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 14, 2010)

Posted on January 03, 2011
When I booted up this opinion, all that was in my field of vision was the right hand side of the caption. Which said: "Mendocino County Superior Ct. No. XXXXXX."To which I immediately involuntarily said -- out loud, even -- "Marijuana case...

People v. Martin (Cal. Supreme Ct. - Dec. 30, 2010)

Posted on December 30, 2010
Martin wins in the California Supreme Court! No, wait. Martin loses in the California Supreme Court! Oh. Martin wins!It's confusing. Plus, it's not our favorite Martin (yours truly). Rather, the defendant here is Louis Martin...

Olsen v. Harbison (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 28, 2010)

Posted on December 29, 2010
I wish this one had remained unpublished. Or, better yet, had been decided the other way.It's not that Justice Hull necessarily analyzes precedent inaccurately. Mind you, the cases don't require a decision one way or the other, so it's really up to the court...

Rezner v. Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereinsbank (9th Cir. - Dec. 28, 2010)

Posted on December 29, 2010
It's hard to know who to root for it this one.Do you root for the plainitiff, John Rezner? He's a rich co-founder of Yahoo! (who created Geocities) who didn't have enough money already, so he decided to enter into a tax scam with fake transactions to diminish the portion going to the United States...

In Re Murguia (9th Cir. - Dec. 24, 2010)

Posted on December 28, 2010
Let's ring in the holiday with a welcome to the newest member of the Ninth Circuit: Judge Mary Murguia, who was confirmed last week. Welcome.I don't know if anyone else actually noticed (as no one I've read has ever mentioned this fact), but by my calculation, we're not just welcoming the newest member...

U.S. v. Newhoff (9th Cir. - Dec. 16, 2010)

Posted on December 23, 2010
Judges don't have to be unnecessarily harsh. Or even harsh at all. Here's a case in point. In which Judge Kleinfeld says:"As for whether the error of reading back Officer Cochran?s testimony without an admonition was plain, we conclude that it was...

People v. Puentes (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 20, 2010)

Posted on December 21, 2010
I'm not going to claim that I totally understand California's vindictive prosecution jurisprudence. I know a little bit about the U.S. Supreme Court's precedent in the area, which I generally find pretty lame. But when it comes to California, well, I am quite confident that there are lots and lots of people who know lots more about it than I do...

People v. Albillar (Cal. Supreme Ct. - Dec. 20, 2010)

Posted on December 20, 2010
Can a rape be committed "for the benefit of" a street gang? I wouldn't have normally thought so. Nor do Justices Werdegar and Moreno, who dissent.But Justice Baxter makes a nonfrivolous argument to the contrary, and persuades the remainder of the California Supreme Court...

Chino Commercial Bank v. Peters (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 13, 2010)

Posted on December 17, 2010
Never, ever, ever -- ever -- respond to an e-mail about some purported moneymaking scheme. Never send money overseas to someone you don't personally know. Never assume that just because the bank said that a check has cleared that means that it has actually "cleared" in the sense that it's not forged and the bank won't come back to you for the money...

Overhill Farms v. Lopez (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 14, 2010)

Posted on December 16, 2010
Assume that I call you a racist. Is that defamatory? Remember: Truth is a defense.Let's be more concrete. Assume you run a company that employs a lot of low-skilled laborers. Assume further that the IRS contacts you in connection with an audit and tells you that 231 of your current employees have invalid social security numbers -- which is common for undocumented/illegal immigrants -- and that you could be penalized a substantial amount for employing such individuals...

Balsam v. Tucows, Inc. (9th Cir. - Dec. 16, 2010)

Posted on December 16, 2010
I guess if you're going to lose your million-dollar-plus default judgment, it's at least nice that Judge McKeown lets you down easily, saying:"There is no simple remedy for the vast number of unsolicited emails, popularly known as 'spam,' that fill our electronic inboxes daily...

County of Los Angeles v. LA County Employee Relations Comm. (Cal. Ct. App. - Dec. 15, 2010)

Posted on December 15, 2010
I was on a plane and out-and-about nearly all day, but when I returned to the intertube this evening, I saw this case. Which made me feel just fine, and seems to strike an entirely appropriate balance.Some LA County employees are represented by the SIEU, but don't have to pay certain portions of union dues if they don't want to, even though the union is required to represent them...

U.S. v. Goyal (9th Cir. - Dec. 10, 2010)

Posted on December 13, 2010
Look, Alex, I'm with you. Seriously. I too don't like it when the government files criminal charges against someone who's not guilty of anything. It's an abuse (and waste) of government power. It destroys people's lives. It's normatively wrong...

Pollard v. The GEO Group (9th Cir. - Dec. 10, 2010)

Posted on December 10, 2010
Judge Bea understands how difficult it is sometimes to come up with the first paragraph of a petition for certiorari. So he helps the defendants through their anticipated writer's block by writing it for them in this dissent from the denial of a rehearing en banc...

U.S. v. Johnson (9th Cir. - Nov. 29, 2010)

Posted on December 09, 2010
I just stepped off a plane at SFO, am giving a talk today (alongside Gerald Uelmen and Justice Grodin) on the legacy of Chief Justice George (feel free to check it out), and am flying back this afternoon, so I won't have the ability to read opinions today...

Stahl v. U.S. (9th Cir. - Nov. 29, 2010)

Posted on December 08, 2010
I'm utterly fascinated by this one.It's a tax opinion. So you wouldn't initially think it likely to result even in interest, much less total fascination. But fascinating it is.Because it's basically about how the U.S. tax laws treat communists...

Doe v. Albany USD (Cal. Ct. App. - Nov. 30, 2010)

Posted on December 07, 2010
You've gotta have phys ed. At least for 20 minutes a day.That's what the statute says. That's what the Court of Appeal rightly holds.The law couldn't be clearer. Justice Hull writes a direct and cogent opinion.Some cases are easy. I don't know how the trial court got this one wrong.

U.S. v. Lopez-Velasquez (9th Cir. - Dec. 7, 2010)

Posted on December 07, 2010
You'd think it was an easy case. Eduardo Lopez-Velasquez gets deported in 1994 at a group proceeding in which he wasn't advised of the potential availability of discretionary relief from deportation. He was married to a U.S. citizen at the time, and had two young U...

Goldberg v. Pacific Indemnity Co. (9th Cir. - Dec. 6, 2010)

Posted on December 06, 2010
I'm writing my Civil Procedure exam today. Or at least I'm supposed to be writing it. It was due on Friday. Instead, I'm reading the eight Ninth Circuit opinions that were published today. Those couple hundred pages have somewhat gotten in the way of my "academic" productivity today...

Tijani v. Holder (9th Cir. - Dec. 6, 2010)

Posted on December 06, 2010
Here's a neat little puzzle.It's a three-judge panel, and all of its members are Ninth Circuit judges. An opinion gets written, and the inevitable post-opinion petitions are filed. One judge votes to grant the petition for panel rehearing...

U.S. v. Bush (9th Cir. - Dec. 3, 2010)

Posted on December 06, 2010
It was true in the twentieth century. It's true in the twenty-first. Barring an economic castastophe, it's always going to be true. It nonetheless bears repeating, if only because so many people fail to understand it. So I'll do my public service message for the day:When someone promises you a 25% return on your investment every month, it's a scam...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

California's Proposed Student Civil Rights Act Gives Broad Definition to "Religion"
On Tuesday, the California Senate Judiciary Committee approved by ...

California mother held in custody breach case
I am posting this to draw attention to what should be simply routi...

California Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes Gay Marriage Bill
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a gay marriage bill Friday, ...

Northern California Farmers Worry Fruit Will Rot On Trees
Yet another story about the plight of fruit and vegetable farmers ...

California divorce is often a time-consuming process
California divorce is often a time-consuming process By Ron Sokol,...