Justia U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress evidence found during a search that followed a 911 call and the stop of defendant's car. Defendant was subsequently convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.The panel held that the totality of the circumstances in this case demonstrates that the 911 call was sufficiently reliable to support reasonable suspicion. Furthermore, the 911 call gave the police reason to suspect defendant was carrying a concealed firearm, which is presumptively a crime in California. Therefore, the 911 call generated reasonable suspicion justifying the stop and the district court was correct to deny defendant's motion to suppress the evidence obtained during the stop. View "United States v. Vandergroen" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's imposition of a special condition of supervised release prohibiting defendant from residing in the town of Browning, Montana, which is the tribal headquarters of the Blackfeet Indian Nation, or visiting the town without prior approval of his probation officer. Defendant is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and the special condition was imposed after he violated the conditions of his probation through alcohol and drug-related infractions.The panel held that the residency restriction is a legitimate condition of supervised release, because the condition is not an illegal banishment or exclusion. In this case, the condition allows defendant to freely travel or reside in all but one quarter square mile of the 1.5 million acres of reservation land, restricting only his access to Browning itself. Furthermore, defendant is free to visit his family, to participate in tribal life, and to receive tribal services in Browning. The panel also held that the tribe's authority does not preclude the federal government from exercising its own authority over defendant and the government's exercise of authority over defendant does not infringe the inherent sovereignty of the Blackfeet Nation. Finally, the panel held that the residency restriction is substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Many White Horses" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's order suppressing 135 pounds of cocaine and 114 pounds of methamphetamine found during the course of a traffic stop. The panel held that the district court erred by failing to evaluate the totality of the circumstances known to the officer prior to his search. In this case, during the Terry frisk of defendants, one defendant made statements contradicting his earlier story about when he had smoked the marijuana cigarette. The panel concluded that the district court erred by not including these contradictory statements in its analysis, and that this error was part and parcel of its broader error of focusing on the officer's subjective motivations for performing the search. The panel stated that the officer stopped the tractor-trailer because he reasonably suspected that one of the defendants was speeding, and the officer had probable cause to search the cab and containers for evidence of violations of Nevada state law based on defendant's admission and shifting story. View "United States v. Malik" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit dismissed the appeal seeking review of the district court's order remanding back to state court a partnership dissolution claim in an action that was originally filed in state court and removed to federal court.The panel held that 28 U.S.C. 1447, which governs procedure after removal and provides two separate authorizations for a district court's remand of a removed case, was applicable in this appeal. Furthermore, no matter whether the district court issued the remand pursuant to section 1447(c) or, as here, pursuant to section 1447(e), section 1447(d)'s bar applies; the accusation of legal error does not permit this court to sidestep the command of section 1447(d); and the panel rejected defendants' contention that section 1447(d) does not bar review because the district court remanded a single claim to state court while section 1447(d) prevents the review of orders "remanding a case."In holding that the joinder of a diversity-destroying party is not separable from a section 1447(e) remand order and is therefore unreviewable, the panel joined the Fourth Circuit. Finally, the panel need not decide whether section 1447(d) barred review of pre-remand decisions to sever claims, and mandamus relief was not warranted nor permissible. View "DeMartini v. DeMartini" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of a Department of Homeland Security joint interim final rule which—with limited exceptions—categorically denies asylum to aliens arriving at the border with Mexico unless they have first applied for, and have been denied, asylum in Mexico or another country through which they have traveled.After determining that plaintiffs have Article III standing, the panel held that plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on their claim that the rule is unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), where it is not in accordance with law and in excess of statutory limitations because it is not consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1158. The panel also held that plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on their claim that the rule is arbitrary and capricious because it runs counter to the evidence before the agency and entirely failed to consider important aspects of the problem. Furthermore, the panel held that plaintiffs have shown that they will suffer irreparable harm, that the balance of equities lies in their favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest. Finally, the panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in entering an injunction covering the four states along the border with Mexico. View "East Bay Sanctuary Convenant v. Barr" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit certified to the Nevada Supreme Court the following questions: Whether, under Nevada law, the burden of proving the applicability of an exception to an exclusion of coverage in an insurance policy falls on the insurer or the insured? Whichever party bears such a burden, may it rely on evidence extrinsic to the complaint to carry its burden, and if so, is it limited to extrinsic evidence available at the time the insured tendered the defense of the lawsuit to the insurer? View "Zurich American Insurance Co. v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendants in an action alleging that the BLM's geld and release plan for wild horses violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.The panel held that the BLM did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it chose to geld and release some of the male horses that would otherwise be permanently removed. The panel also held that the BLM permissibly determined that the intensity factors, whether considered individually or collectively, did not show that the Gather Plan would have a significant effect on the environment; the BLM considered and addressed the relevant factor that the Gelding Study raised and explained why additional information was not available, which meets NEPA's "hard look" standard; the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act does not require the BLM to discuss explicitly all expert opinions submitted during the public-comment period; and by addressing the concerns and factors that the NAS Report raised, the BLM complied with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act's requirement that the BLM "consult" the National Academy of Sciences. View "American Wild Horse Campaign v. Bernhardt" on Justia Law

A judicial foreclosure proceeding is not a form of debt collection when the proceeding does not include a request for a deficiency judgment or some other effort to recover the remaining debt. If a foreclosure plaintiff seeks not only to foreclose on the property but also to recover the remainder of the debt through a deficiency judgment, then the plaintiff is attempting to collect a debt within the meaning of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). But if the plaintiff is simply enforcing a security interest by retaking or forcing a sale of the property, without regard to any additional debt that may be owed, then the FDCPA does not apply.The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiff's action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act over a judicial foreclosure proceeding in Oregon. The panel held that plaintiff pleaded no conduct by the defendants beyond the filing of a foreclosure complaint and actions to effectuate that proceeding. View "Barnes v. Routh Crabtree Olsen PC" on Justia Law

The Ninth Circuit denied the petition for review of the BIA's decision denying asylum and withholding of removal to petitioner. The panel held that substantial evidence supports the BIA's conclusion that petitioner has not met his burden to produce evidence demonstrating that his purported groups are socially distinct: Mexican professionals who refuse to cooperate with drug cartels and agronomists who refuse to help cultivate drugs.In this case, nothing in the record addresses whether Mexican society views either of petitioner's proposed social groups as distinct; no laws or proposed legislation so indicate; nor do any country conditions reports or news articles mention such a group. Rather, the evidence paints a picture of all segments of the Mexican population being adversely affected by the brutality of drug cartels. Furthermore, the expert testimony does not bridge the gap nor does petitioner's testimony make the required showing. View "Diaz-Torres v. Barr" on Justia Law

The State of Washington may exercise criminal jurisdiction over members of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation who commit crimes on reservation land.The panel held that the Yakama Nation had Article III standing to seek a permanent injunction regarding the effect of a Washington State Proclamation retroceding, or giving back, criminal jurisdiction to the United States. Under 25 U.S.C. 1323(a), the Proclamation retroceded, "in part," civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Yakama Nation to the United States, but retained jurisdiction over matters "involving non-Indian defendants and non-Indian victims." Based on the entire context of the Proclamation, the panel concluded that "and" is disjunctive and must be read as "or." Therefore, the panel held that, under the Proclamation, the State retained criminal jurisdiction over cases in which any party is a non-Indian. Therefore, the panel found that the Yakama Nation has not shown actual success on the merits in order to justify a permanent injunction. View "Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County" on Justia Law