Constitutional Law

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

Schmidt v. City of Pasadena — PREP Act Immunizes Workplace COVID Testing and Mask Policy

automatic / October 5, 2026

Schmidt v. City of Pasadena: PREP Act Immunizes Workplace COVID Testing and Mask Policy.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Healthcare Law, Labor & Employment Law

MacDonald v. OHSU — Hospital showed undue hardship from religious vaccine exemption

automatic / October 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a hospital proved undue hardship from allowing an unvaccinated mother-and-baby-unit nurse to remain in her role.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Castillo v. Bean — Post-conviction counsel error may excuse default of Nevada death-penalty claims

automatic / October 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived two Nevada death-row habeas claims because initial post-conviction counsel's errors may excuse their procedural default.

1st District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Jordan v. Superior Court — No Full Evidentiary Hearing Required to Revoke Outpatient Competency Treatment

automatic / October 1, 2026

The First District Court of Appeal holds that due process does not require a full evidentiary hearing before a court revokes a mentally incompetent defendant's outpatient competency-restoration status under Penal Code section 1608.

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

Americans for Prosperity v. Meyer — Arizona campaign-source disclosure survives First Amendment review

automatic / September 30, 2026

A divided Ninth Circuit panel affirmed dismissal of the facial and as-applied challenges. Applying exacting scrutiny, the majority found a substantial relationship between source disclosure and Arizona’s important interest in giving voters accurate information about major campaign-media spending.

1st District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Blackman v. Substack — First Amendment Bars Claims Over Truthful Reporting from Lawfully Obtained Arrest Record

automatic / September 29, 2026

The First Amendment barred publication-based claims over truthful reporting drawn from a sealed arrest report that the journalist lawfully obtained.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Business Transactions, Constitutional Law

TC Telephone v. Public Utilities Commission — Vague Reimbursement Rules Cannot Support Retroactive Repayment Order

automatic / September 28, 2026

The CPUC could not retroactively demand millions under reimbursement rules that failed to give fair notice and that agency staff themselves viewed as unclear.

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

Diemert v. City of Seattle — Evidence of Anti-White Harassment Can Support Hostile-Workplace Claim

automatic / September 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived a white employee's hostile-workplace claim while rejecting his constructive-discharge, retaliation, and equal-protection theories.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Litigation

Edwards v. Brown — Oregon Limitations Period Tolls During Mandatory Prison Grievance Process

automatic / September 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Oregon's limitations period for a prisoner's section 1983 claim tolls while mandatory grievance exhaustion is underway.

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

Medrano v. Acosta — Ninth Circuit Upholds Police Use of Force in Felony Arrest

automatic / September 25, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that officers did not violate clearly established law by pointing firearms during a felony arrest and granted qualified immunity.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Election Law

Cervantes v. Bianco — Sheriff Could Not Remove Voted Ballots from Election Officials’ Custody

automatic / September 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court ordered Riverside County’s sheriff to return roughly 650,000 voted ballots because state law requires them to remain in election officials’ custody.

California Supreme Court, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Election Law

Bonta v. Bianco — Attorney General May Direct a Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation

automatic / September 24, 2026

The California Supreme Court held that the Attorney General may issue binding, lawful directions to a county sheriff concerning a particular criminal investigation.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Cortez — Juvenile Resentencing Statute Does Not Cover a 46-Year-to-Life Term

automatic / September 24, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that a juvenile’s 46-year-eight-month-to-life sentence was not life without parole and did not qualify for Penal Code section 1170 resentencing.

6th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Election Law, Tax (non-estate)

Holtz v. Moreles — County may call special tax election based on broadly defined emergency

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Sixth District upheld Santa Clara County's special sales-tax election, construing Proposition 218's emergency exception according to its ordinary broad meaning.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Litigation, Personal Injury & Tort

Bandary v. Delta Air Lines — Airline security-report immunity extends to resulting restraint

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that federal airline-security immunity covers both a reasonable report to law enforcement and conduct flowing from the officer's response.

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

United States v. Rivera — Cash conversion and drug-premises enhancement upheld at sentencing

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a methamphetamine and ammunition conviction, approving cash-to-drug conversion and a drug-premises sentencing enhancement.

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

Cannon v. United States — Recovered funds remain reachable after an FBI agent stole seized cash

automatic / September 23, 2026

An amended Ninth Circuit opinion allows a Rule 41(g) claim where the government recovered funds traceable to cash stolen by an FBI agent after seizure.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Cruz — Codefendant Trial Transcripts Did Not Violate Due Process at Resentencing

automatic / September 22, 2026

Using a codefendant’s trial transcripts at a Penal Code section 1172.6 hearing did not violate due process because the petitioner could present and test evidence.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law

Yukutake v. Lopez — En Banc Ninth Circuit Upholds Hawaii’s Firearm-Permit Procedures

automatic / September 22, 2026

The en banc Ninth Circuit held that objective, non-abusive shall-issue firearm procedures are presumptively constitutional and upheld Hawaii’s acquisition rules.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Immigration

Padilla v. ICE — Asylum seekers apprehended away from the border may pursue detention due-process claims

automatic / September 21, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that asylum seekers apprehended away from the border may pursue a due-process challenge to mandatory detention without bond hearings.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Montes v. Superior Court — Prosecutors bear the burden to justify withholding jury-selection notes

automatic / September 21, 2026

A defendant may obtain prosecution jury-selection notes in postconviction discovery without first making a prima facie showing of racial bias.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Family Law

Irvine v. Irvine — A pending criminal case did not automatically require delaying a domestic-violence restraining-order hearing

automatic / September 18, 2026

A DVRO respondent facing related criminal charges is not automatically entitled to a continuance; courts must balance self-incrimination concerns against safety, delay, and statutory objectives.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Adam — Witness travel and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not justify missing the misdemeanor speedy-trial deadline

automatic / September 18, 2026

The court reversed a misdemeanor conviction because witness travel ending before the last day and unexplained courtroom unavailability did not establish good cause to exceed section 1382’s deadline.

5th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Superior Court (Jackson) — Prosecutors cannot compel their own mental-health examination of a defendant seeking pretrial diversion

automatic / September 17, 2026

Prosecutors cannot compel their own mental-health examination of a defendant seeking pretrial diversion.

4th District Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

People v. Williams — Broad sentencing statistics did not establish a prima facie Racial Justice Act claim

automatic / September 17, 2026

A broad racial disparity statistic covering multiple kinds of enhancements did not establish a prima facie California Racial Justice Act violation without controlled analysis or comparable cases.