Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law, Litigation

Whitfield v. Mullin — Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing, Leaving Its “Serious Questions” Injunction Test in Place Over Ten Dissenting Votes

automatic / October 16, 2026

The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc in a Rehabilitation Act case, leaving in place a panel remand that invokes the circuit's "serious questions" sliding-scale injunction test, while ten judges dissented on the ground that the test conflicts with Winter and Starbucks.

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

United States v. Le — Ninth Circuit vacates Le’s conviction because replacing a distressed juror whose crisis stemmed from pressure over the verdict violated the Sixth Amendment

automatic / October 15, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that federal criminal jurisdiction extended to the first three nautical miles offshore, but vacated Hoang Xuan Le’s conviction because replacing a juror whose distress stemmed from her view of the merits violated unwaivable unanimity protections.

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

United States v. State of California — Ninth Circuit holds California’s No Vigilantes Act identification requirement for federal officers is barred by Supremacy Clause intergovernmental immunity

automatic / October 14, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of a preliminary injunction and ordered entry of a preliminary injunction barring California from enforcing against the United States, federal agencies, and federal officers a state law requiring non-uniformed federal law enforcement officers to visibly display identification, holding the statute directly regulates the federal government's sovereign functions in violation of the Supremacy Clause.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

United States v. Youngblood — Ninth Circuit Upholds Section 922(g)(3) Against Facial Challenge

automatic / October 13, 2026

Because Stennerson’s reasoning and theory are not clearly irreconcilable with Hemani, we hold that Stennerson remains good law and apply its holding here.

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

Black v. IEC Group — Disclosure of entrusted health data supplies Article III injury

automatic / October 9, 2026

The panel reversed the Rule 12(b)(1) dismissal and remanded for further proceedings; it decided standing, not the ultimate merits of the privacy claims.

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

Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. U.S. Forest Service — Project did not cause road-plan noncompliance

automatic / October 9, 2026

The panel reversed summary judgment for the Alliance and remanded. It did not finally resolve the separate HFRA issue that the district court had not reached.

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

Roe v. Johnston — Ninth Circuit reverses injunction against Arizona birth-certificate amendment statute, holding the law’s court-order pathway survives rational basis review

automatic / October 6, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment for a class of transgender Arizonans and vacated a permanent injunction, holding that Arizona's birth-certificate amendment statute does not violate equal protection or due process because a catch-all provision lets anyone obtain a court-ordered amendment without undergoing a sex change operation.

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, Antitrust, Business Transactions

Snow v. Align Technology — Antitrust Plaintiffs May Test Claimed Business Reasons for Refusal to Deal

automatic / October 5, 2026

Snow v. Align Technology: Antitrust Plaintiffs May Test Claimed Business Reasons for Refusal to Deal.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Litigation

United States v. So — Foreign-Evidence Tolling Covered Bribery Conspiracy Charge

automatic / October 5, 2026

United States v. So: Foreign-Evidence Tolling Covered Bribery Conspiracy Charge.

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.

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

Baker Ranches v. Burgum — McCarran Amendment permits suit to administer decreed water rights

automatic / September 30, 2026

A divided Ninth Circuit panel reversed. The majority held that the 1934 adjudication comprehensively determined the relative rights to the creek system and that the present suit seeks administration of those established rights.

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.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Litigation

United States v. Burton — False Claims Act Military Bar Does Not Permit Immediate Appeal

automatic / September 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that denial of the False Claims Act's military service-member bar is not an immediately appealable collateral order.

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, Environmental Law, Litigation

Washington v. Crown Resources — Private Clean Water Act Settlement Does Not Preclude State’s Separate Suit

automatic / September 28, 2026

A private Clean Water Act consent decree did not preclude Washington's separate suit because the State was neither a party nor in privity with the settling group.

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, Administrative Law, Immigration

Perez-Garcia v. Blanche — Ninth Circuit Finds Failure to Consider Bond Payment Evidence Is Legal Error

automatic / September 25, 2026

When an immigration judge grants voluntary departure but conditions it on posting a bond, the Board of Immigration Appeals commits legal error if it overlooks evidence that the bond was paid.

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.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Litigation, Real Estate Law

Childs v. San Diego Family Housing — Military Housing Mold Suit Returns to State Court

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that private managers of San Diego military housing failed to establish federal enclave, federal officer, or federal agency jurisdiction.

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

Ling v. City of Los Angeles — Housing Accessibility Agreement Was Not an FCA Alternate Remedy

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Los Angeles’s separate housing-accessibility agreement did not replace a False Claims Act suit and therefore was not an alternate remedy sharing source.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Litigation

Nolen v. PeopleConnect, Inc. — Class Certification Upheld for Yearbook Publicity Claims

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit upheld damages and injunctive classes alleging that Classmates.com used yearbook names without consent under California’s right-of-publicity statute.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Civil Procedure, Labor & Employment Law

Ridings v. PeaceHealth — Religious-Accommodation Complaint Should Have Included Exemption Letter

automatic / September 24, 2026

The Ninth Circuit revived a nurse’s religious-accommodation suit because her exemption letter was central to the complaint and made the asserted conflict plausible.

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

Collard v. Bisignano — Working through worsening pain cannot be used mechanically to deny disability benefits

automatic / September 23, 2026

The Ninth Circuit required a new disability analysis because an ALJ misused the claimant's work history, daily activities, treatment record, and corroborating lay testimony.