US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals news stories on Newser

Court Kills Terrorist's Suit Against Bush Lawyer

Kevin Spak — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:37:05 CDT

Convicted terrorist Jose Padilla can't sue the Bush administration lawyer who helped craft the legal justification for torturing him—nor can any American citizen in the same predicament, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. Padilla, an American citizen dubbed an "enemy combatant" in 2002, has been trying to...

Court to Rule on Prop 8 Today

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:58:47 CST

Californians are awaiting a ruling today on whether the state's Proposition 8 banning gay marriage is constitutional. A three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide if the law, passed by referendum in 2008, violates equal protection and due process. A lower court shot down the...

Obama Court Pick Would Make History

John Johnson — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:39:44 CDT

Jacqueline Nguyen fled her native Vietnam as a young girl during the fall of Saigon, and she may soon make history as the first Vietnamese-American to serve on a federal appellate court. President Obama has nominated "trailblazer" Jacqueline Nguyen to serve on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, reports McClatchy...

Obama Interviews First Court Candidate

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:52:00 CDT

President Obama has accelerated his search for his next Supreme Court nominee, meeting in the Oval Office with one of the candidates, federal judge Sidney Thomas of Montana, a person familiar with the conversation says. Obama's meeting with Thomas yesterday was his first known formal interview for the upcoming vacancy...

Anna Nicole's Estate Loses $450M Inheritance Fight

Nick McMaster — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:07:58 CDT

Anna Nicole Smith's estate won't inherit any money from J. Howard Marshall, the oil magnate Smith married a year before his death. In a case that's dragged on for nearly 15 years, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled today that a Texas probate court correctly found Marshall didn't...

Supreme Court Takes Text Message Privacy Case

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:39:05 CST

The US Supreme Court will take a case that could decide how much privacy workers have when they send text messages from company accounts, the justices said today. They will review a federal appeals court ruling that sided with California police officers who complained that their department improperly snooped on...

Court Approves Ex-Inmates' Suit Against CIA

Jason Farago — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:24:59 CDT

Five men who allege they were kidnapped and tortured on the orders of CIA agents may bring suit in federal court, an appeals panel ruled yesterday. Presidents Bush and Obama both contended that the case should be dismissed to protect classified evidence. But a federal appeals court panel ruled presidential...

Bybee Rues Signature on Torture Memos

Harry Kimball — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:00:29 CDT

Jay Bybee has told friends and colleagues that he regrets his role as one of the authors of the so-called torture memos, the Washington Post reports. Most notably, Bybee, who's now a federal judge, signed off on the 2002 memo that authorized waterboarding. "I've heard him express regret at the...

Court Limits Bosses' Access to Staff Emails

Peter Fearon — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:10:00 CDT

A federal court has ruled that emails and text messages on work accounts—routinely monitored by some employers—are protected by constitutional safeguards against unreasonable search and seizure. The ruling only applies to electronic communications supplied through outside servers, not internal systems. The ruling forbids service providers from handing over...