Civil Rights

IRS Agent Audits Potty, Violates Fourth Amendment Ioane v. Hodges, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25569 (9th Cir. Sep. 10, 2018) Okay, I made up the phrase “potty audit,” but here’s what happened. IRS agents lawfully executed a search warrant in the presence of the homeowners. Or rather, they were executing it lawfully–until the homeowners needed […]

In re Maguire, 57 Cal. 604 (1881). People v. Jemnez, 49 Cal. App. 2d Supp. 739 (1942).Sail’er Inn, Inc. v. Kirby, 5 Cal.3d 1 (1971). In 1880, San Francisco passed a law prohibiting women from working in any “dance-cellar, bar-room, or in any place where… liquors are used or sold.” The belief was that “such […]

Peck v. Montoya, 51 F.4th 877 (9th Cir. 2022). In October, the Ninth Circuit published an excessive force decision in Peck v. Montoya, 51 F.4th 877 (9th Cir. 2022). The decision is important for Justice Warriors to understand because it, unfortunately, narrows who can sue and be sued for constitutional injuries. The case arises from […]

Fourth and Fifth Amendments apply to cross-border shooting where victim is in Mexico. Rodriguez v. Swartz, 899 F.3d 719 (9th Cir. 2018) While standing on high ground on the U.S. side of the border, Border Patrol Agent Lonnie Swartz opened fire through the border fence, killing a sixteen-year-old boy. The boy had been merely walking […]

ADA Compliance During Police Detention Vos v. City of Newport Beach, No. 16-56791, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 15633 (9th Cir. June 11, 2018) Police surrounded a mentally-ill man at a 7-11 store. As has become all too common, the police shot and killed him. The Vos case confirms that in addition to more traditional excessive-force […]

Today we honor Clara Shortridge Foltz, the first woman to attend UC Hastings. Among many other accomplishments, Foltz was also the first woman in California to: join the Bar, hold statewide office, and serve as deputy district attorney. U.C. Hastings had originally NOT admitted Clara Shortridge Foltz because the directors of the law school “believed […]

In February, the state released the results of an audit revealing that 185 people had died in San Diego County’s jails from 2006 through 2020, raising “concerns about underlying systemic issues with the Sheriff’s Department’s policies and practices.” This year alone, at least twenty people have lost their lives while in custody in San Diego […]

Last month the Ninth Circuit published a decision on the constitutional implications of what may be perceived by some as a small, annoying police intrusion – chalking the tires of parked cars. The Ninth Circuit’s holding in Verdun creates a Circuit Split over the issue and includes some choice words from the dissenting judge. Verdun […]

Police liability for fabricating evidence Caldwell v. City & Cty. of S.F., No. 16-15473, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 12335 (9th Cir. May 11, 2018) Mr. Caldwell spent nearly 20 years in prison for a crime that evidence later showed he did not commit. He sued the police department and individual officers for fabricating evidence against […]

“The Cops Beat the Crap Out of Me” and Preclusion of Civil Suits by Criminal Guilty Pleas Byrd v. Phoenix Police Dep’t, No. 16-16152, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6575 (9th Cir., March 16, 2018). This case teaches two things: 1) pleading guilty to a drug crime does not preclude an excessive-force civil suit; and 2) […]