U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2003

On amended opinion, the Ninth Circuit held that the BIA's streamlining procedure — summary affirmance of an immigration judge's decision by a single Board member without opinion — does not violate aliens' Fifth Amendment due process rights, joining four sister circuits; under Mathews v.

The court upheld the denial of asylum and related relief because the evidence did not compel rejection of the IJ’s adverse credibility finding. It vacated the permanent immigration-benefits bar because Farah was not given a sufficient opportunity to explain the specific discrepancies relied upon to find his…

In the fifth lawsuit between Eric Noel and Sandra and Brian Hall, arising from a failed horse-investment partnership, a mobile home sale, and Noel's secret tape recordings of Sandra Hall's telephone calls, the Ninth Circuit drew the boundary between the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and claim preclusion.

The court reversed the denial of Horner’s motion because a post-criminal-proceeding Rule 41(e) motion seeking return of property must be treated as a civil complaint, and the district court improperly relied on materials outside the pleadings without converting the motion or giving Horner an opportunity to respond.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the district court's judgment upholding the Commissioner's denial of Jeanne Connett's disability benefits. It held the ALJ gave clear and convincing, record-supported reasons for rejecting Connett's testimony about her back, neck, and shoulder pain…

The Ninth Circuit denied Valentina Nagoulko's petition for review of the BIA's dismissal of her asylum claim, applying substantial-evidence review to hold that although her testimony was credible and her fear of returning to Ukraine subjectively genuine, the record did not compel a finding of past persecution on…

The en banc court affirmed the denial of Reyna-Tapia’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea and held that, with the defendant’s consent, a magistrate judge may conduct a felony Rule 11 plea colloquy as an additional duty.

The Ninth Circuit (Berzon, J.) held that the BIA abused its discretion by misclassifying Iturribarria's motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel as a motion to reconsider rather than a motion to reopen, because motions resting on newly discoverable evidence of counsel's misconduct are properly motions to…

In a per curiam order, the Ninth Circuit declined to review the merits of two district court summary judgment decisions favoring Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. because the available record did not establish that the district court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.