The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Hernandez v. City of Phoenix,[1] found that although it seemed like a police officer’s social media posts expressing hostility toward and denigrating a major religious faith and its adherents could impede the performance of his job duties and interfere with the police department’s ability to effectively carry out…

In Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff,[1] the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that members of a school district’s board of trustees acted under color state law by using their social media pages as public forums in carrying out their official duties.  Then, applying First Amendment public forum criteria, the Court concluded that restrictions on certain individuals…

In Wyatt v. Kern High Sch. Dist., 80 Cal. App. 5th 1116 (5th Dist. 2022), a California Court of Appeal concluded that a peace officer’s personnel records were not subject to disclosure under the 2018 amendments to Penal Code sections 832.7 & 832.8.  In reaching its conclusion, the Court explained that the officer was never…

Jones Mayer mourns the passing of Peter L. Wallin who passed away on July 25, 2022. Peter was extraordinary, not just as an attorney, but as a human being. No matter the circumstances, he approached each day and each problem with the most positive of attitudes and lived life to its fullest. Peter graduated from…

In light of its decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al., v. Bruen,[1] the United States Supreme Court issued an order vacating and remanding four Circuit Courts of Appeals judgments involving the Second Amendment’s application to various state laws.  In Bruen, the Supreme Court deemed a New York state law’s…

In a 6-3 decision in Vega v. Tekoh,[1] the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded a Circuit Court decision holding that the use of an un-Mirandized statement against a defendant in a criminal proceeding violates the Fifth Amendment and may support a Section 1983 claim against the officer who obtained the statement.  The Supreme…

In a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court in, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al., v. Bruen,[1] determined that the State of New York’s requirement that applicants for concealed carry weapons permits must establish “proper cause” for issuance of the permit was unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments because…

In Jones v. Bonta, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 12657 (9th Cir. May 11, 2022), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined the California law prohibiting the sale of semiautomatic rifles to young adults was unconstitutional.  In reaching its conclusion, the Court found that the laws burdened the right to home self-defense and did not reasonably…