Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

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

United States v. Abdul Kareem — Ninth Circuit Reverses ISIS Material-Support Conspiracy Conviction for Insufficient Evidence of Direction or Control

automatic / November 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem's conviction for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, holding that evidence of ideological sympathy and independent violence inspired by a terrorist group's propaganda cannot sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B without proof of an intent to act under the organization's direction or control.

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

Navarrete v. Blanche — Standalone CAT petition dismissed for lack of jurisdiction

automatic / November 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit dismissed Navarrete’s petition because it challenged only a negative reasonable-fear determination and resulting CAT denial, not a final order of removal.

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

United States v. Ridley-Thomas — Ninth Circuit affirms bribery and honest-services fraud convictions based on a $100,000 payment routed through USC

automatic / November 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed Mark Ridley-Thomas’s convictions, holding that routing $100,000 through USC to benefit his son’s nonprofit was a thing of value supporting honest-services fraud and federal-program bribery.

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

Lindsay Hecox v. Madison Kenyon — Ninth Circuit Vacates Preliminary Injunction and Remands for Dismissal as Moot After Supreme Court Reversal

automatic / November 5, 2026

The Ninth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against Idaho's Fairness in Women's Sports Act and remanded to the district court to dismiss the case as moot because the plaintiff was no longer enrolled at Boise State and offered only a conclusory statement of intent to re-enroll without concrete steps to effectuate re-enrollment.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Banking & Finance, Collections & Creditor Rights, Litigation

Srinivasan v. Milestone Financial, LLC — Chapter 13 debtors had an absolute right to voluntary dismissal under § 1307(b), but the one-year refiling bar imposed under § 105(a) and authorized by § 349(a) was affirmed

automatic / November 4, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed a bankruptcy court's dismissal of Chapter 13 cases for failure to comply with an order because the debtors had an absolute statutory right to voluntary dismissal under § 1307(b), but affirmed the one-year refiling bars that the bankruptcy court imposed for cause under § 105(a) as authorized by § 349(a).

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

Service Employees International Union v. Department of Justice — Ninth Circuit Reinstates Stay of Order Barring Federal Ballot-Sequestration Demands and Prosecution Threats

automatic / November 3, 2026

On Election Day 2026, a majority of the Ninth Circuit en banc court reinstated a panel order staying a district court's temporary restraining order that had barred federal officials from demanding ballot sequestration and threatening election officials with prosecution.

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

National TPS Alliance v. Mullin — Ninth Circuit denies Government’s bid to stay preliminary injunction pending appeal

automatic / November 3, 2026

After the Supreme Court vacated its earlier decision and remanded in light of Mullin v. Doe, the Ninth Circuit denied the Government's motion to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal, denied its alternative request for an administrative stay of at least 21 days, and said it would set expedited merits briefing by separate order.

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

Service Employees International Union v. DOJ — Ninth Circuit Stays Order Barring Federal Ballot-Sequestration Requests and Prosecution Warnings

automatic / November 2, 2026

A divided Ninth Circuit panel granted the Government's motion for a stay pending appeal of a temporary restraining order that barred federal ballot-sequestration requests and prosecution warnings to election officials, concluding that the Government is likely to prevail on the Voting Rights Act and Elections Clause claims.

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

Johnson v. Adgar — Officer Violated Fourth Amendment but Receives Qualified Immunity for Foam-Round Shooting

automatic / November 2, 2026

The Ninth Circuit found unconstitutional excessive force in a foam-round shooting but granted the officer qualified immunity and certified a Bane Act question.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Business Transactions, Litigation

Shared Partnership v. Meta Platforms — Section 230 bars conversion claim over removal of Facebook pages

automatic / October 30, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Meta’s account terms preserved its editorial discretion and did not give an advertiser an independent right to keep its Facebook pages online.

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

United States v. State of California — Ninth Circuit Refuses Last-Minute Ballot Segregation Order

automatic / October 30, 2026

The Ninth Circuit refused to require California officials to segregate thousands of ballots days before the election because federal law did not clearly compel that remedy and late changes risked serious disruption.

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

Seyb v. Labrador — Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal

automatic / October 30, 2026

Ninth Circuit stays injunction against Idaho abortion law pending appeal.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Antitrust, Civil Procedure, Litigation

NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation — Expert disputes go to the jury, but damages require a new trial

automatic / October 30, 2026

NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation: Expert disputes go to the jury, but damages require a new trial.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Environmental Law

Colvin & Son, LLC v. Burgum — Wild-Horse Removals Need Prompt Action, Not Fixed Deadlines

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed.

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

Uber Technologies, Inc. v. City of Seattle — App-Worker Deactivation Rules Survive Injunction Challenge

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction.

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

California Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta — Ninth Circuit Keeps Injunction Against Employer Political-Meeting Law

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Ninth Circuit kept SB 399 preliminarily enjoined because the employer political- and religious-meeting law is likely a content-based speech restriction that fails strict scrutiny.

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

Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Rubio — Ninth Circuit stays diversity-visa injunction

automatic / October 29, 2026

The Ninth Circuit granted the government's emergency motion for a stay pending appeal.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Environmental Law

Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Reclamation — contract conversions require no separate NEPA or ESA review

automatic / October 28, 2026

Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Reclamation: contract conversions require no separate NEPA or ESA review.

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

United States v. California — Ninth Circuit Dismisses Premature Ballot-Segregation Appeal

automatic / October 26, 2026

A divided Ninth Circuit panel dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and denied the emergency motion as moot. Ordinarily, an appellate court reviews an order granting or denying an injunction, not a request the trial court is still actively considering. The narrow constructive-denial doctrine can treat inaction as appealable when delay effectively refuses urgently needed relief and creates imminent, severe, irreparable consequences. Those conditions were not met here.

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

Prado v. City of Berkeley — Ninth Circuit Partly Stays Encampment Injunction During Disease Abatement

automatic / October 26, 2026

The panel granted a stay to the extent the district court’s orders prevented Berkeley from clearing and abating the Harrison encampment. Public-health evidence showed that leaving tents and vehicles in place could shelter rats and interfere with eradication measures. That created a serious risk to residents, workers, and the public, and justified allowing the city to complete work at that location while appellate review continued.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative Law, Immigration

A.M. v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit Remands Asylum Denial Where Judge Misunderstood Bisexuality and Withheld Notice to Corroborate

automatic / October 23, 2026

In a published opinion, the Ninth Circuit granted a bisexual Russian man's petition for review and remanded because the immigration judge misunderstood bisexuality and failed to give statutory notice and an opportunity to corroborate.

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

Newsom v. Trump — Ninth Circuit Denies Voluntary Dismissal of Fully Briefed Appeal to Prevent Strategic Manipulation of Precedent, but Grants Dismissal of Unbriefed Extension Appeal

automatic / October 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied Defendants' motion to voluntarily dismiss the fully briefed appeal of the initial federalization injunction, finding the appeal not moot and that dismissal would allow strategic manipulation of precedent, while granting dismissal of the unbriefed extension appeal.

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

Newsom v. Trump — Ninth Circuit affirms order blocking federalization and deployment of California National Guard in Los Angeles

automatic / October 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order, reviewable as a preliminary injunction, that bars deployment of the federalized California National Guard in Los Angeles because neither 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3) nor § 12406(2) likely authorized the President's June 2025 federalization order.

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

United States v. Mumma — Ninth Circuit affirms conviction and forfeiture for hidden-camera exploitation of a minor but vacates restitution over a $2,500 error

automatic / October 20, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld the indictment and a $160,000 forfeiture money judgment against Todd Mumma, holding any Rule 32.2 jury-inquiry error harmless, but vacated the restitution order and remanded to correct a $2,500 arithmetic error.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law

United States v. Anderson — Ninth Circuit Requires an Evidentiary Hearing When Sworn Accounts Conflict on Whether a Defendant Told Counsel to Appeal

automatic / October 19, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that a district court abused its discretion by denying a § 2255 motion without a hearing where the movant and his trial counsel gave conflicting sworn accounts of whether he directed counsel to appeal.