Even though medical marijuana is legal in California and even though 36 states now allow it to be purchased with a prescription from a licensed physician, a probationer, whose leg was amputated below his knee after a motorcycle accident, was still denied permission to use the drug to “alleviate (his)... Read More »
While giving a fundamental lesson on the First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech clause, the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit by a law student who sought to include the name of an alleged CIA whistleblower in a Facebook post. A three-judge panel denied the appeal of plaintiff-appellant Cameron... Read More »
Sitting en banc, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an amendment to a California law that prohibits possession of gun magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Allowing some exemptions, the court, in an often feisty written debate, voted 7-4 along party lines to uphold the... Read More »
If a fast-food restaurant closes its indoor seating at night because of safety concerns and only allows customers to buy their burgers at the drive-thru, is the restaurant violating the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)? The Ninth Circuit said no when it dismissed a case by two blind patrons who... Read More »
Even though the trial judge failed to instruct jurors that a claim of imperfect self-defense was possible, an appeals court ruled that the omission was harmless error as it upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a stoned defendant who shot his friend in the head nine times, then set him... Read More »
“Hi Grandma, this is your grandson. I’m calling you from Bolivia. I’ve had a terrible accident and I need your help. Please send me some money so I can get medical treatment and come home to you.” This is not an actual conversation, but it is similar to what a... Read More »
When an elderly couple called an ambulance during a medical emergency, they asked the driver to take them to a hospital where their physicians have privileges. The driver refused because the county they live in requires that they be taken to the nearest hospital. They sued the county and lost... Read More »
When newsworthy events occur, the responsible organization normally writes a press release and posts it on its website to inform the public about what happened. One man who pled guilty to several acts of mortgage fraud and completed his sentence sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau... Read More »
A doctor and eight health care workers who “served patients on the front line of the COVID–19 pandemic with bravery and grace” lost their fight for an injunction to prevent the State of Maine from implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that lacked exemptions for religious beliefs. In a brief, six-sentence... Read More »
Jane Roe was drunk. John Doe claimed she consented to have sex. She denied it. When suspended by the university that both of them attended, Doe moved to set aside his penalty because he was denied the chance to cross-examine his accuser. The trial court said there were no credibility... Read More »
Ruling that a new California labor code section “regulates economic activity rather than speech,” the Ninth Circuit rejected First Amendment and Equal Protection challenges to the 2020 amendments to AB 5, a law that makes some freelance journalists employees instead of independent contractors. Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Circuit... Read More »
Since the 1950s, the Catholic Church has been aware that it has a problem with priests who sexually abuse children. After one of the victims sued a California archdiocese in 2017, a trial court found that since the priest’s Los Angeles Archdiocese had no direct knowledge of his sexual misconduct,... Read More »
The wise Watergate advice to “follow the money” has now led to the convictions of two former associates of Rudolph W. Giuliani for campaign finance violations during the ill-fated campaign to re-elect ex-President Donald Trump. Lev Parnas, a Russian-born Florida businessman, and one of his business partners were convicted of... Read More »
A supermarket warehouse employee who claimed employment discrimination lost his appeal when the court ruled he was not entitled to more time to improve his “subpar” performance after he returned to work following medical leave. In an opinion by Orange County Superior Court Judge James L. Crandall issued on September... Read More »
Remember Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, two of the first arcade games that kickstarted today’s global obsession with video games? The man dubbed “The Video Game Player of the Century” was accused of cheating during a competition by a company that tracks scores. He sued for defamation, and the company’s motion... Read More »
