U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2005

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's summary judgment affirmance of the Commissioner's denial of disability insurance benefits, holding that the ALJ lacked substantial evidence to find at step two of the five-step sequential evaluation that Webb had no medically severe impairment or combination of…

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision upholding the denial of disability benefits. It concluded that the ALJ’s comments about counsel did not establish bias, and that the ALJ’s evaluations of the medical opinions, residual functional capacity, vocational-expert testimony, and lay testimony were…

The Ninth Circuit held that defendants challenging a prisoner’s in forma pauperis status under the three-strikes provision must initially produce evidence showing that at least three prior actions were dismissed for a qualifying reason; after notice, the prisoner bears the ultimate burden of persuasion.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of disability benefits, concluding that the ALJ gave clear, convincing, and specific reasons supported by substantial evidence for partially discounting Burch’s pain testimony.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Evel and Krystal Knievel's Montana defamation suit over ESPN's caption 'Evel Knievel proves that you're never too old to be a pimp,' holding that the Montana Constitution's libel-jury clause does not entitle plaintiffs to a jury trial that would displace Federal Rule…