In Handy v. Jones, published September 15, 2026, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court order denying a motion to dismiss. Late at night, the plaintiffs’ decedent’s neighbor called 911 multiple times to report a disturbance between the decedent and his girlfriend. The neighbor reported hearing screaming, a loud thud against the…
In Rios v. City of Azusa, published August 20, 2026, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal for lack of jurisdiction. A man acting erratically was subjected to a use of force by police that left him in a vegitative state. He and his children sued individual police officers and their agencies asserting…
In Glick v. City of Los Angeles, published July 30, 2026, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 2 reversed an order granting a new trial on damages. The plaintiff officers were accused of harassing a suspect in custody. The police agency’s internal affairs department investigated the allegations. It allegedly did not conduct the same…
In Khedr v. Superior Court (Broadmoor Police Protection Dist. et al), ordered published July 13, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal, Division 5 declined to issue a writ overturning an order partially sustaining a demurrer. The petitioners, part-time police officers with the defendant district, alleged that they were retaliated against and ultimately terminated after…
In Fuhr v. City of Seattle, published May 7, 2026, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for a police officer based on qualified immunity. The mother of the decedent’s daughter made a 911 call from a public playfield, reporting that the father of her child (against whom she…
In 3Pak LLC v. City of Seattle, published May 5, 2026, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Washington State law. During the 2020 protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, protestors occupied a…
In Zorn v. Linton, published March 23, 2026, the Supreme Court, in a per curiam opinion, reversed a circuit court decision that itself reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment. Officers informed protesters engaged in a sit-in at a state capitol that they would be arrested for trespassing. The protesters linked arms and refused…
In Gonzalez v. City of Phoenix, published January 8, 2026, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision denying summary judgment to the defendant officers on the grounds of qualified immunity. The plaintiffs’ decedent was acting erratically. When two officers chased him on foot, the decedent ran into…
In Case v. Montana, published January 14, 2026, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Montana State Supreme Court. The defendant, the inhabitant of a house, called his ex-girlfriend threatening to commit suicide. When she said she would call the police, he responded that he would shoot them too. Sounds she heard…
In Hawatmeh v. City of Henderson, published November 7, 2025, the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983. A family’s neighbor invaded the family’s apartment, killed the mother and a housekeeper, shot a daughter multiple times, and then took the 12-year-old son hostage. The man entered the…