Administrative Law

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Litigation

Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi — Tribes likely to prevail against sports event contracts under IGRA

automatic / September 16, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that California tribes were likely to prevail on an IGRA challenge to sports event contracts, while rejecting their Lanham Act theory.

1st District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure

Sakach v. County of Marin — Clerk’s Improper Rejection Did Not Make Administrative Appeal Late

automatic / September 14, 2026

A clerk’s unsupported rejection of a timely administrative appeal did not make the appeal late; the notice was deemed filed when first submitted.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Szewczyk v. OCERS — Regularly Scheduled Jail Overtime Counts Toward County Pensions

automatic / September 14, 2026

Mandatory overtime embedded in the normal schedule of Orange County jail deputies counted as compensation earnable for pension purposes.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration

U Visa Appellants v. USCIS — Advance Parole for Waitlisted Petitioners Is Discretionary

automatic / September 14, 2026

Waitlisted U-visa petitioners have no mandatory right to advance parole, though some waiting-list-delay theories require further district-court review.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Real Estate Law

Powers v. McDonough — Ninth Circuit Declines En Banc Review of West Los Angeles Veterans Housing Ruling

automatic / September 11, 2026

The Ninth Circuit left standing a panel ruling concerning disability claims and supportive housing for homeless veterans at the VA’s West Los Angeles campus, over a lengthy dissent from denial of rehearing en banc.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Civil Rights Department v. SpaceX — State Agency May Investigate Whether Out-of-State Conduct Violated FEHA

automatic / September 9, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed. At the investigative stage, the agency did not have to prove that every alleged act ultimately fell within FEHA before obtaining information reasonably relevant to that question. SpaceX therefore could not defeat the subpoena simply by characterizing the complaint as extraterritorial.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration

Perez-Castillo v. Blanche — Immigration persecutor bar has no implied duress defense

automatic / September 8, 2026

The Ninth Circuit independently interpreted the immigration persecutor bar and held that it contains no implied duress defense.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Litigation

Comite Civico del Valle v. County of Imperial — Lithium project EIR lacked support for long-term water supply

automatic / September 2, 2026

Imperial County’s lithium-project EIR lacked evidence of a 50-year water supply and failed to analyze related mitigation and air-quality risks.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration, Litigation

Urias-Gaxiola v. Blanche — Noncitizen must be allowed to prove counsel’s factual admission was wrong

automatic / September 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit required an immigration judge to hear evidence that counsel’s written admission about a noncitizen’s entry was factually wrong.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Real Estate Law

Parsons v. City of Indian Wells — City may let common-interest communities opt out of short-term-rental limits

automatic / August 31, 2026

Indian Wells may let qualifying common-interest communities opt out of its short-term-rental minimum because the program neither amends HOA documents nor delegates core lawmaking power.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration

Garcia Morales v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit rejects entry-based asylum restriction and requires full mixed-motive analysis

automatic / August 31, 2026

The Ninth Circuit invalidated an entry-based asylum restriction in an individual case and required the agency to apply the complete mixed-motive persecution test.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

City of Los Angeles v. AFSCME — Labor board could order make-whole relief for failure to bargain over pension changes

automatic / August 28, 2026

A Los Angeles labor board could compensate employees for losses caused by the City's failure to bargain over the effects of a pension change.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Richards v. Newsom — Ninth Circuit Upholds Recording Rules for California Firearms Dealers

automatic / August 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld dismissal of First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment challenges to California’s audiovisual-recording mandate for firearms dealers.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Business Transactions, Constitutional Law

Rocky Patel Premium Cigars v. Bonta — California Unflavored Tobacco List Survives Injunction Challenge

automatic / August 27, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held California’s tobacco-list requirement is saved from federal preemption and presently imposes only a minimal commercial-speech burden on premium cigar makers.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

County of King v. Turner — Agencies Could Not Add Sweeping Conditions to Previously Awarded Grants

automatic / August 25, 2026

The Ninth Circuit largely blocked HUD and DOT from imposing sweeping new policy conditions on previously awarded grants because the agencies lacked congressional authorization.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Kinnucan v. NSA — congressional report held by agency remains outside FOIA

automatic / August 24, 2026

A congressional report kept and used internally by the NSA remained outside FOIA because Congress retained control over disclosure.

U.S. Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Election Law

Trump v. California — Supreme Court stays injunction against election order

automatic / August 24, 2026

The Supreme Court stayed an injunction against a federal election executive order while emphasizing that future implementation may still be challenged.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Mayor v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board — WCAB cannot toll its own 60-day reconsideration deadline

automatic / August 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that the WCAB cannot equitably toll its own statutory 60-day deadline to act on a reconsideration petition.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Town of Apple Valley v. Apple Valley Ranchos Water — courts independently review utility takeovers

automatic / August 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that courts independently weigh challenges to public acquisitions of privately owned utility property.

5th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

1 Community Compact v. City of Fresno — Street Renaming Did Not Compel Speech or Exceed City Power

automatic / August 21, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that Fresno’s street renaming was government speech, did not compel residents to endorse a message, and was a valid exercise of municipal police power.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Litigation

California v. ATF — State and Gun-Safety Group Lacked Standing to Demand Broader Ghost-Gun Regulation

automatic / August 21, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that California and a gun-safety organization lacked standing to challenge an ATF example excluding some unfinished receiver blanks from regulation.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law

Pacific Maritime Association v. NLRB — en banc court limits work-preservation defense in union jurisdictional disputes

automatic / August 20, 2026

The en banc Ninth Circuit held that a union cannot use a work-preservation defense to evade the NLRB's allocation of work in a genuine inter-union jurisdictional dispute.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Environmental Law

Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Reclamation — Water-Contract Conversions Required No New Project-Specific Environmental Review

automatic / August 17, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that mandatory WIIN Act water-contract conversions required neither contract-specific NEPA review nor Endangered Species Act consultation.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law

QueerDoc, PLLC v. DOJ — Policy Opposition Alone Does Not Show a Healthcare Subpoena Was Issued in Bad Faith

automatic / August 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that political opposition to gender-affirming care alone did not prove DOJ issued an otherwise authorized healthcare subpoena in bad faith.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration

Gonzalez-Argueta v. Blanche — Former-Officer Asylum Claim Fails Nexus Rule

automatic / August 13, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied review under existing precedent. Because the claimed protected status was being a former officer, the panel treated post-service mistreatment as the relevant nexus evidence; the absence of later threats supported the agency’s finding that the feared harm was not on account of that status.