Tuesday, February 05, 2008

John v. El Monte (9th Cir. - Feb. 5, 2008)

It's pretty hard to confuse the Ninth Circuit and the Fourth Circuit. The former's on the West Coast; the latter's on the East Coast. The former's fairly leftie; the latter's very rightie. They're about as different in size, geography, and composition as one can get.

But Judge Friedman -- sitting by designation from the Federal Circuit -- writes an opinion for the Ninth Circuit that begins "Likewise, in Torchinsky v. Siwinski, 942 F.2d 257 (9th Cir. 1991), we found that . . ." Which is fine. Except that case is from the Fourth Circuit, not the Ninth. By Judge Wilkinson, no less. So that "we" ain't exactly the right "we".

Whoopsies. Take that part out.

P.S. - Don't get me wrong. Apart from that error, it's a very good opinion.