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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

People v. Ebaniz (Cal. Ct. App. - June 3, 2009)

Posted on June 03, 2009
Tyrone Ebaniz is a sixteen-year old charged with participating in the grisly group torture and murder of his best friend, seventeen-year old Eric Jones. At his first trial, he's convicted of a wide variety of charges -- including first degree murder -- and sentenced to 34 years to life...

Clem v. Lomeli (9th Cir. - June 2, 2009)

Posted on June 02, 2009
We learned last month that you can't necessarily believe everything you read in the Rutter Group. Today, we learn that even when you're in the Ninth Circuit, you can't even rely upon the Ninth Circuit's own Model Civil Jury Instructions (here, No. 9.25)...

Chau v. Starbucks (Cal. Ct. App. - June 2, 2009)

Posted on June 02, 2009
When you leave money in the tip jar at Starbucks, to whom are you leaving it? And who may permissibly recieve it; in particular, can the company command that the store manager ("shift supervisor") gets a cut?The general rule in California is that the company can't take a cut of tips from its employees and give the dough to their agent (e...

In Re H.H. (Cal. Ct. App. - June 1, 2009)

Posted on June 01, 2009
Just a little hint: When you're riding a bike, minding your own business, and the police stop you because you don't have the proper lighting equipment thereupon (and, yeah, I'm sure that was their real concern), the first words out of your mouth should not be to proclaim: "I'm not on probation...

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People v. Davis (Cal. Supreme Court - June 1, 2009)

Posted on June 01, 2009
The California Supreme Court issued its opinion today in the case against Richard Davis, who was the person who kidnapped and killed 12-year old Polly Klass. It's a case familiar to anyone who was cognizant of current events in the early 90s -- particularly in California, and especially parents...

People v. McL***** (Cal. Ct. App. - May 29, 2009)

Posted on May 29, 2009
Here's a case that, in my view, is clearly and unambiguously correct. Both as to the law as well as to the equities.Defendant -- I'll keep his name out, for reasons I'll explain later (though you can get it right from the caption) -- gets convicted of a drug offense back in the early 1990s and is sentenced to probation...

In Re Silver State Helicopters LLC (9th Cir. - May 28, 2009)

Posted on May 29, 2009
Doesn't everyone wish they had a job when, on occasion, you could say to someone: "Dude. I'm important. You may think you're question's important. But it's not. So stop bothering me."That's another occasional benefit of being on the Ninth Circuit.

California Attorneys v. Schwarzenegger (Cal. Ct. App. - May 28, 2009)

Posted on May 28, 2009
I assume that the plaintiffs in this case are right, and that deputy attorneys general in California are significantly underpaid compared to other public service attorneys in California. But I am at the same time completely certain that Justice Raye is also correct that the Legislature, rather than the judiciary, is the proper place in which to seek relief for this unfortunate circumstance...

People v. Gutierrez (Cal. Ct. App. - May 28, 2009)

Posted on May 28, 2009
As the (fictional) judge said to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting: "You hit a cop. You go in."Admittedly, Matt Damon didn't go in for long; instead, he got the deal that led to the story. But in the real world, it's a different story. Sure, in this case, it's a correctional officer rather than a police officer that gets hit...

Yamaha Motor Co. v. Superior Court (Cal. Ct. App. - May 26, 2009)

Posted on May 27, 2009
I'm definitely going to talk about this one.First, on a pedantic level, I must say it's a bit frustrating to have an opinion (like this one) dated as published yesterday but put on the court's web site only today. Not a biggie, but still.Second, this is yet another opinion with some great conversational lingo...

Jazayeri v. Mao (Cal. Ct. App. - May 27, 2009)

Posted on May 27, 2009
Dead chickens. Hearsay. Authentication. Fraud. Admissibility disputes. And a judge (Judge Gutman, up in LA) who's apparently an evidentiary stickler, and wrongly so.This case has got 'em all.

Knappenberger v. City of Phoenix (9th Cir. - May 26, 2009)

Posted on May 26, 2009
I'm in the midst of reading the California's 170-plus page opinion in the gay marriage cases. Which was not so easy to even obtain given the crush on the court's server. I'll all say for now (and perhaps for a while) is that I have never seen Chief Justice George rely so heavily on italics...

People v. Hairston (Cal. Ct. App. - May 26, 2009)

Posted on May 26, 2009
A car pulls into the parking lot of your apartment complex with rap music blaring, and with the driver rapping and singing along. Three people exit the car. Do you really think it's a good idea, in such a context, to tell your friend -- out loud and within the hearing range of these people -- that the driver's singing sounded like a song that Elmo (from Sesame Street) had rapped? Will this really be the start of something good?! Especially when, in response to the driver's "question" as to whether you're trying to be funny, you make a point of calling him "boy"? Not good...

People v. Chaffin (Cal. Ct. App. - May 14, 2009)

Posted on May 22, 2009
I'ts a snoozer of a Friday as we head into the Memorial Day weekend. Nothing special in the Ninth Circuit or in the California Court of Appeal today, which mostly concerned themselves with making tiny amendments to previous decisions.So I thought I'd just float this one out for your consideration:Mike gets into a verbal altercation with his baby mama that escalates into a physical confrontation after she slaps him...

In Re Estate of Beckel (Cal. Ct. App. - May 21, 2009)

Posted on May 21, 2009
Here's a good question for the California Bar Exam. One which, I might add, the lower court got wrong. It's a Trusts & Estates question -- a class I never took (anywhere) -- but I nonetheless was able to intuit the answer. See if you can do the same...

People v. Cadogan (Cal. Ct. App. - May 20, 2009)

Posted on May 21, 2009
So I'm reading this case, and my eyes flitter to the line that contains the name of counsel for the defendant. I notice that it's another case where the appellate counsel is appointed by the court -- nothing unusual there -- and I read the name: Marcia R...

U.S. v. Heron-Salinas (9th Cir. - May 20, 2009)

Posted on May 20, 2009
It's a big San Diego Day today. Only two published opinions total from the Ninth Circuit and California Court of Appeal thus far, both of which come from America's Finest City. A locale, I might add, at which it's currently sunny and 73 degrees. Per se usual...

People v. Burgener (Cal. Supreme Ct. - May 7, 2009)

Posted on May 19, 2009
Tell me it makes sense to keep pushing this one.This is already the third time the case has been back up to the California Supreme Court, not to mention the time in the California Court of Appeal. Justice Baxters says this appeal "may not be the last," but I can add to that: It definitely won't be the last...

U.S. v. Maness (9th Cir. - May 19, 2009)

Posted on May 19, 2009
You reside -- and are hanging out -- in Wasilla, Alaska. There are less than 6000 of you in the town. It's June 2001, so your mayor is Sarah Palin: someone as yet largely unknown to the rest of the universe. Perhaps you voted for her, perhaps you didn't...

Manhattan Loft LLC v. Mercury Liquors, Inc. (Cal. Ct. App. - May 18, 2009)

Posted on May 18, 2009
Sometimes cooling off makes a difference.Take, for example, today's modification. Just reading it, you wouldn't think it was anything special, much less worth noting. It just changed a couple of minor lines of an opinion by Justice Ashmann-Gerst, after all...

Byrd v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Dep't (9th Cir. - May 18, 2009)

Posted on May 18, 2009
Dear Penthouse:I never thought those stories were true, but then I met Kathy. We met when she was a young trainee at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Training Academy, and I was in a minimum security jail for some low-level charges. They called a ton of us out to check us for contraband, told us to strip down to our prison-provided boxer shorts, and assigned trainees to search us...

Mazda Motors v. M/V Cougar Ace (9th Cir. - May 8, 2009)

Posted on May 15, 2009
This is how Judge Fisher begins this opinion: "This in rem admiralty action requires us to decide whether the defendant ocean vessel may invoke a forum selection clause in the bills of lading governing ocean carriage on that vessel."Oooh! Sexy!You had me at "in rem admiralty," Ray...

United States v. Iribe (9th Cir. - May 6, 2009)

Posted on May 14, 2009
Especially for those of us down here in San Diego: Next time your friend asks you to have a fun time with 'em down in TJ, make sure they're really a friend.

Balzaga v. Fox News Network (Cal. Ct. App. - May 14, 2009)

Posted on May 14, 2009
On the one side we have the plaintiffs, who are several immigrant day laborers. On the other side we have the defendant, the Fox News Network. Lots of people are going to make up their mind right there -- without any of the facts at all -- about who should win...

Doody v. Schiro (9th Cir. - May 12, 2009)

Posted on May 13, 2009
This is what I said.See why?Not looking good for him.

Catz v. Chalker (9th Cir. - May 13, 2009)

Posted on May 13, 2009
Here's a nice little opinion. Short. Clear. Good.Admittedly, it's about a totally hypertechnical procedural matter: Whether a Rule 60(a) motion filed within 10 days of the judgment tolls the time for filing an appeal. A question, I might add, which has a simple answer, which you can fairly rapidly discern from FRAP 4, which says: "If a party timely files in the district court any of the following motions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the ime to file an appeal runs for all parties from the entry of the order disposing of the last such remaining motion...

People v. Zambia (Cal. Ct. App. - May 12, 2009)

Posted on May 12, 2009
I agree with Justice Kriegler that Jomo Zambia is guilty of pandering. It seems like a pretty broad statute, and the evidence shows that he was indeed trying to become Officer Cruz's pimp.Let me ask a somewhat related question. Imagine I make the following statement to my readers: "Being a prostitute isn't such a bad thing...

Keener v. Jen-Weld (Cal. Supreme Ct. - May 7, 2009)

Posted on May 12, 2009
It's not always so easy to count to 9.

Ileto v. Glock (9th Cir. - May 11, 2009)

Posted on May 11, 2009
It's Monday. Let's play a game.Go to this opinion. It's about the liability of firearms manufacturers, and is interesting (and important) on the merits. But don't read it yet. And cover up the caption when you boot it up. Turn directly instead to pages 5578-80 of the slip opinion, which is where the majority responds to the dissent...

Cooper v. Brown (9th Cir. - May 11, 2009)

Posted on May 11, 2009
I know, I know.It's 113 pages. Single-spaced. Plus, that figure doesn't even contain the majority opinion, since we're talking about a dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc.Still. If you're going to read one 100+ page dissent from the Ninth Circuit this year, this should be the one...

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