In Cardenas-Ornelas v. Johnson, published January 29, 2026, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The plaintiff claimed that during the COVID-19 Pandemic, prison staff denied him and his unit yard exercise, arguing inability to carry out social…
In Weldeyohannes v. State of Washington, published December 19, 2025, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment granted to the state and prison officials. The plaintiff inmate had a documented history of medical accommodation, including use of a wheelchair because of his mobility problems. Medical providers assign inmates transportation codes, ranging from T-1…
In Human Rights Defense Center v. Uttecht, published December 11, 2025, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded summary judgment for the defendants. The plaintiff publisher publishes a habeas corpus guide that it distributes to prisoners. The guide contains sample pleadings with party names redacted. The state department…
In King v. Villegas, published October 20, 2025, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s dismissal of a state prisoner’s 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit. The plaintiff was involved in a physical altercation with two corrections officers. His version of events and the officers’ versions were completely different.…
In Bird v. Dizurenda, published March 13, 2025, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's denial of summary judgment to defendant prison guards based on qualified immunity. The plaintiff inmate approached the officer in charge of his cell unit and requested that he be moved from his cell at once because of issues…
In D'Braunstein v. California Highway Patrol, published March 12, 2025, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for the defendant officer. The officer arrived at the scene of a single-vehicle auto accident, in which the plaintiff crashed his car into a concrete wall along a freeway onramp. The plaintiff…
In Houston v. County of Maricopa, published September 5, 2024, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the dismissal of a putative class action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983. The county published a Mugshot Lookup website on which it posted photographs and extensive personal identifying information about arrestees. The photographs…
In Bell v. Williams, published July 18, 2024, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment after jury verdict for a prisoner in a suit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and the Americans with Disability Act/Rehabilitation Act. The prisoner plaintiff was an amputee, his right leg amputated above the…
In Carley v. Aranas, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court order denying a motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The plaintiff was an inmate in state prison. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2013. In 2013, the FDA began approving direct acting antivirals as a new treatment that cured…
In Nielsen v. Thornell, published May 21, 2024, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the NAACP and two former prisoners alleging that Arizona's private prisons violate various federal constitutional rights. The majority ruled that imprisonment in private prisons does not violate inmates'…