9th Circuit En Banc Panel May Hear YouTube, Concealed Carry Cases
This week is set to be a busy one for en banc review for the Ninth Circuit.
With the "Innocence of Muslims" YouTube stay and California's concealed carry laws on the line, the 11-judge panel may have a lot on its mind.
If they decide to hear the issues, that is.
Google v. Garcia: Will YouTube Clip Stay or Go?
As the Volokh Conspiracy reported Thursday, some judge (probably not Kozinski) made a sua sponte request to rehear en banc the panel's decision to deny the stay made in Google v. Garcia -- forcing YouTube to remove the "Innocence of Muslims" trailer.
The order made it clear that this en banc call is only regarding the stay, not the ruling in Google v. Garcia -- which was somewhat questionable on its own. Lawyers for Google are worried about the usual factors for injunction relief: irreparable harm to Google and YouTube, likelihood of success, etc.
But it's of particular interest how an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit will respond to arguments that a stay is in the public's interest. This issue has been at the center of public debate, and YouTube occupies an odd "Internet public square"-type role in our culture, so this will be a real test of the right to view or receive information under the First Amendment.
Briefs are due by March 12, but the en banc panel still has to decide to rehear the stay issue.
Peruta v. County of San Diego: Gun With the Wind
It certainly isn't "Gone With the Wind," but there has been more than a touch of drama over the Peruta concealed carry decision. There's the small matter of whether there's actually a right to carry weapons in public under the Second Amendment -- which Peruta heavily suggests there is.
There's also the San Diego Sheriff's Office dropping the case, only to have California Attorney General Kamala Harris pick it up and run with it. This raised some eyebrows; even though California law was a centerpiece of the Peruta decision, it was the San Diego Sheriff's Office's enforcement of the law that was at issue.
So the Ninth Circuit has until Friday to decide whether to rehear the case en banc, so be sure to hit refresh on the court's special page for Peruta.
If these two cases are any indication, March will be an en banc-y time of year.
Related Resources:
- Status of Pending En Banc Cases (U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit)
- En Banc Denied in Conversion Therapy Case (FindLaw's U.S. Ninth Circuit Blog)
- Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing in Pink Underwear Lawsuit (FindLaw's U.S. Ninth Circuit Blog)
- Trump University Anti-SLAPP Case Denied En Banc Rehearing (FindLaw's U.S. Ninth Circuit Blog)