In McNeil v. Sherwood School District, published March 14, 2019, the 9th Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendant school district in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case brought by a high school student and his parents. The student wrote in his personal journal a hit list of students who "must die." His mother…
In Barone v. City of Springfield, published September 5, 2018, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a defense summary judgment in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit. A police department community service officer served as community liaison to the city's minority communities. Members of the Latino community complained to…
In Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, published June 18, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded a judgment for the defendant city after a jury trial. The plaintiff was an outspoken critic of the city. After the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the city, the city council held a closed-door meeting on the…
In Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, published June 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed an Eighth Circuit decision upholding a Minnesota law prohibiting individuals from wearing a political badge, political button, or other political insignia inside a polling place. The Court held that a polling place is a nonpublic forum for First Amendment purposes. Therefore,…
In Contest Promotions v. San Francisco, amended October 23, 2017, the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 challenge to the constitutionality of a city's billboard ordinance. The city's planning code differentiated between general signs (which direct attention to business that takes place elsewhere than on the premises where the…
In Entler v. George, published October 6, 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part and affirmed in part a district court's dismissal of a pro se prisoner's lawsuit under FRCP 12(c). The Washington State Department of Corrections established an offender grievance program that encourages prisoners to try to informally resolve their issues before…
In Sharp v. County of Orange, published September 19, 2017, a divided 9th Circuit panel affirmed in part and reversed in part denial of the defendant deputies' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Deputies had an arrest warrant for a suspect. They went to the suspect's parents' house, listed on his probation documents as…
In Moonin v. Tice, published August 22, 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order denying qualified immunity to a Nevada Highway Patrol supervising officer and granting partial summary judgment to a patrolman. The supervisor sent an e-mail to K9 officers in the patrol barring any direct contact between K9 handlers or…
In Reed v. Lieurance, published July 24, 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment, dismissal, and judgment as a matter of law in the defendants' favor in a case alleging wrongful arrest in violation of the 4th and 1st Amendments. The plaintiff, a volunteer with an environmental group, was observing an interagency operation…