Time for The Big One. So many have so many takes on the Ninth Circuit that, as part of our #12Months12Circuits series, we at IJ had to add our own. It’s the mega-circuit that encompasses all of the West Coast, much of the Mountain West, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. IJ’s Paul Avelar, who lives in the circuit, and Ben Field, who clerked there, share some details and war stories about the circuit that’s just too darn big. After that they analyze a couple recent, very-Ninth-Circuit-y cases. Paul shares a sovereign immunity matter where a host of plaintiffs who like their gas stoves sued a group of Washington State officials. Unfortunately, the court said they sued the wrong folks. There’s much talk about picking the right defendants and how you sue the government and how you can’t. Then Ben brings us to California where the state requires gun shops—including a gun shop inside someone’s home—to record video and audio 24/7 and must turn it over to the government if asked. The majority of the panel thought this was all just fine from both a First Amendment and Fourth Amendment perspective. Ben and the dissent disagree.
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