Thursday, November 7, 2019

9th Cir. news & Taking it to 11

Today's DJ has With Confirmation, 9th Circuit Is Fully Staffed and Less Partisan
  • Assent of 73 senators confirmed Danielle Hunsaker as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ newest judge Wednesday, placing the westernmost federal circuit at full strength for the first time in four years and at its closest partisan balance in over two decades.
  • Hunsaker’s ascent to a Portland seat enlarges to 13 the Republican-appointed cohort on a court with 29 active postings. The last time GOP-named judges verged as nearly on a circuit majority was 1996 before 21 successful selections by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — against seven George W. Bush appointments — bolstered a Democratic complement the circuit first became been known for when Jimmy Carter filled 10 expansion judgeships.
  • Two other 9th Circuit nominees — San Diego prosecutor Patrick Bumatay and Department of Justice attorney Lawrence VanDyke — are slated for upcoming vacancies and await Judiciary Committee votes.
[Law360 has Trump Touts Record on Judges As Senate OKs 9th Circ. Pick, noting "Trump appointees now account for 1 in 4 active U.S. circuit judges."]
[Law.com has 'This Is Not Normal': US Judge Denounces Trump's Attacks on Judiciary]

And UC Irvine Law Students Win 9th Circuit Immigration Appeal -- The opinion published last week, granting the Salvadoran appellant’s request for review of her rejected appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, was the result of efforts by students of UC Irvine School of Law’s appellate litigation clinic. Celia Diaz Martinez v. William P. Barr, 17-72186 (9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2019).
Image result for take it to 11

Moreover, Spinal Tap wins right to rock, though litigation rolls on -- Cast and crew members of the 1984 mockumentary about a fictional heavy metal band who sued for rights to the 1984 cult classic announced the settlement of claims against defendant Universal Music Group Inc. in a statement Tuesday.