9th Circuit Court of Appeals (32 summaries)
ALASKA STOCK V. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Under the Copyright Act, where photographers assign their ownership of copyrights in their images to a stock agency and the stock agency has registered the complete collection as a whole, both the collective work and the individual images are registered. This includes situations where the copyright registration application lacks the individual name of each photographer, and lacks specific titles for each photograph.
Area(s) of Law:- Copyright
REAOC v. County of Orange
Without explicit legislative intent or statutory authority, longstanding practice or policy alone does not create an implied contractual right.
Area(s) of Law:- Contract Law
Gonzales v. CDC
When a state habeas hearing provides a 鈥渇ull and fair hearing鈥 for the issue to be heard and determined under federal standards, the district court must apply issue preclusion to a 42 U.S.C. 搂 1983 habeas action.
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
Muniz v. UPS
Disparity between a party鈥檚 damages awards and the prevailing party鈥檚 attorney fees is not a per se special circumstance triggering downward adjustment, and absent unique circumstances requiring adjustment, the figure should be awarded unaltered.
Area(s) of Law:- Attorney Fees
United States v. Steele
Upon exercise of its factual cost-benefit determination, the district court does not abuse its discretion by deferring consideration of a defendant鈥檚 ineffective assistance claim to collateral review.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Kulakchyan v. Holder
Misrepresentation concerning the date of entry in an asylum application is material; under 8 U.S.C. 搂 1158(d)(6), withdrawal of an application alone may suffice for the Board of Immigration Appeals to find an application frivolous.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
United States v. Bonds
Under 18 U.S.C. 搂 1503, statements that are misleading or evasive, though nevertheless factually true, can support a conviction for obstruction of justice.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Kumar v. Holder
When analyzing the level of 鈥減ersonal involvement鈥 in granting asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Board of Immigration Appeals should consider a petitioner鈥檚 particular circumstances.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
A.D. v. State of Hawaii Dep鈥檛 of Educ.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act鈥檚 鈥渟tay-put鈥 provision, a child shall remain in his current educational placement during the pendency of any proceedings; the injunctive qualities of the stay-put provision apply to challenges to the legality of a State鈥檚 law, 鈥減rohibiting changes to a student鈥檚 educational placement until the legal dispute is resolved.鈥
Area(s) of Law:- Disability Law
Chehalis Tribes v. Thurston Cnty.
Permanent improvements built on non-reservation land owned by the United States and held in trust for an Indian tribe pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 搂 465 are exempted from state and local government taxation.
Area(s) of Law:- Indian Law
Elim Church of God v. Harris
The Department of Labor鈥檚 regulation creating an expiration date for labor certifications does not impermissibly apply a new rule retroactively, and publication of the proposed and final rule in the Federal Register is sufficient notice for all, including current certificate holders.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
United States v. Ajoku
In the context of 18 U.S.C. 搂 1035, false statements willfully made to non-federal authorities, but that 鈥渃oncern matters of interest to the federal government,鈥 may fall within federal oversight for the purposes of 搂 1035; willfulness, for the purpose of 搂 1035 simply means 鈥渄eliberately and with knowledge,鈥 and does not require knowledge of unlawfulness.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
United States v. Barnes
An officer engages in prohibited 鈥渢wo-step interrogation鈥 when the officer, in a custodial setting, deliberately delays giving Miranda warnings to induce cooperation in an ongoing investigation.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
San Luis Unit Food Producers v. United States
Administrative Procedure Act 搂 706(1) claims can proceed 鈥渙nly where a plaintiff asserts that an agency failed to take a discrete agency action that it is required to take鈥 since 鈥渂road programmatic attacks on an agency鈥檚 administration of a program鈥 are prohibited.
Area(s) of Law:- Administrative Law
Chappell v. Mandeville
When the law is not clearly established on whether a contraband watch violates the Eighth Amendment, such that it fails to provide adequate notice to prison officials regarding the constitutionality of their actions, the prison officials are entitled to qualified immunity.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Rights 搂 1983
United States v. Xu
鈥淲hen a statute gives no clear indication of an extraterritorial application, it has none.鈥 However, there is "express legislative intent to punish patterns of organized criminal activity in the United States" and under RICO, conspiracy convictions are not the result of "improper extraterritorial application" when the pattern of defendants鈥 criminal enterprise involved both the foreign country and the United States.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
United States v. Harris
49 U.S.C. 搂 46505鈥檚 prohibition of 鈥渄angerous weapons鈥 on an aircraft is 鈥渟ufficiently clear to provide guidance to citizens concerning how they can avoid violating it鈥 and to place a defendant on notice that his conduct was criminal to survive an as-applied vagueness challenge.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
United States v. Zamorano-Ponce
Federally defined "statutory rape" is a "crime of violence" for the purposes of sentencing and "16-Level Enhancement" under U.S.S.G.搂 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). To determine whether a specific State crime qualifies as "statutory rape" for these purposes, the Court compares the State and Federal definitions, examining in particular the "full scope of the conduct" the State law prohibits.
Area(s) of Law:- Sentencing
Ridore v. Holder
The Board of Immigration Appeals cannot disregard an Immigration Judge鈥檚 factual findings and substitute its own view of the facts. The BIA must either find clear error in the IJ鈥檚 factfinding, with an explanation of why; or, if critical facts are missing, it may remand to the IJ.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
Terenkian v. Republic of Iraq
Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, for a 鈥渃ommercial activity鈥 immunity exception to thrive, it must be based on a legally significant commercial act that occurred in the United States or an act that had a direct and legally significant effect in the U.S.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
Dennis v. Kellogg Company
Failing to identify recipients, using vague language in a settlement, and failing to delineate specifically how a cash sum or award is to be disbursed can be fatal to cy pres product settlement awards.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Law
United States v. H.B., Juvenile Male
For a Juvenile adjudication sentence to be reasonable the least restrictive placement for the youth must be considered, the order for detention must be no longer than necessary for treatment, and due consideration should be given for the 鈥渦nique concerns and needs of [Native American youth], as they are 鈥榙isproportionately subject to federal court jurisdiction for their delinquency offenses鈥 on account of the structure of the FJDA.鈥
Area(s) of Law:- Indian Law
Hiler v. Astrue
In a Social Security Disability hearing, an ALJ errs by relying solely on an interim Veterans Affairs (VA) disability decision, where a later VA decision rejects the interim decision.
Area(s) of Law:- Disability Law
Cook v. Ryan
When a state requires a petitioner to raise a trial ineffective assistance of counsel claim in collateral proceedings, a petitioner may establish cause for procedural default of this claim by demonstrating two things: 鈥(1) 鈥榗ounsel in the initial-review collateral proceeding, where the claim should have been raised, was ineffective under the standards of Strickland v. Washington,鈥 and (2) 鈥榯he underlying ineffective-assistance-of-trial-counsel claim is a substantial one, which is to say that the petitioner must demonstrate that the claim has some merit.鈥欌
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
United States v. Pope
鈥淎 formal arrest is not always necessary to conduct a search without a warrant.鈥 When there is probable cause to make an arrest, high risk evidence will be destroyed, and the search is 鈥渃ommensurate with the circumstances necessitating the intrusion,鈥 a warrantless search is justified. A command can effectuate a search when followed, but noncompliance with the command maintains one鈥檚 reasonable expectation of privacy and does not constitute a search.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Rodriguez v. Holder
The BIA may never engage in de novo review of an IJ鈥檚 factual findings or credibility determinations. It may only review these for clear error, and it is legal error for the BIA to make its own factual determinations. If an IJ has not determined a fact necessary to the resolution of the case, the BIA is required to remand the case to the IJ.
Area(s) of Law:- Immigration
United States v. California State Lands
So long as the federal government is within its constitutional right to take land, just compensation having been paid, 鈥渘either the equal-footing doctrine nor the public trust doctrine prevents the federal government from taking a [fee simple] interest in the land unencumbered;鈥 be it from a person, or a state.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Ludwig v. Astrue
Decisions must be made entirely on the basis of evidence adduced at the hearing, not, even in part, on private chats. 鈥淩eceipt of ex parte communication [that goes to the heart of the case], assignment of some weight to it, and denial of a supplementary hearing to address it,鈥 is error, requiring an evaluation of whether prejudice exists.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
Lopez v. Ryan
鈥淚nadequate assistance of counsel at initial-review collateral proceedings may establish cause for a prisoner鈥檚 procedural default of a claim of ineffective assistance at trial鈥 where the prisoner establishes that 鈥渢he underlying ineffective assistance claim is a substantial one.鈥
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
United States v. Milovanovic
Under 18 U.S.C. 搂搂1341 and 1346, a fiduciary duty 鈥渘eed not be formal, or classic.鈥 Rather, a material breach of 鈥渁 comparable duty of loyalty, trust, and confidence, 鈥 with the intent to defraud, deprives the victim of the intangible right to honest services.鈥 Foreseeable risk of economic harm is not a necessary element of the Mail Fraud Statute; instead a materiality test is required to evaluate fraudulent intent and a showing of materiality.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Molina v. Astrue
Where adverse credibility of a claimant鈥檚 testimony is established in determining whether the claimant is 鈥渄isabled鈥 under the Social Security Act, the same "specific, clear, and convincing reasons" for rejecting the claimant鈥檚 testimony apply with equal force to lay witness testimony conveying similar evidence. Failure to comment on such lay testimony is harmless error.
Area(s) of Law:- Disability Law
Salt River Project v. Lee
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, an Indian Tribe protected by sovereign immunity is not considered a necessary or indispensable party, when a tribal official adequately represents the group鈥檚 interest in the action and complete relief could be accorded 鈥渁mong the existing parties without the tribe.鈥
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure