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U.S. v. Leow (9th Cir. - Feb. 2, 2010)

By Shaun Martin

The Ninth Circuit's web site lists the "case origin" for every published opinion; basically, what district it came from. You could just say "Central District of California" or "District of Arizona," but the Ninth Circuit provides additional information as well that's not on the caption; namely, what particular division (i.e., city) the district court was in. So, for example, in the Central District of California, we regularly see opinions in cases coming from the "Los Angeles District Court" as well as the "Santa Ana District Court."

Which is great. More information is always good.

But sometimes you see things that you're not used to seeing. Particularly when you're out of state.

So this morning, for example, we get this opinion. That the Ninth Circuit lists as coming from the "Moscow District Court."

Wow. I mean, I knew the Ninth Circuit had pretty expansive jurisdiction, including the CMNI and Alaska. But Moscow?! That's amazing.

Reminds me of the old days, when the Ninth Circuit had jurisdiction over appeals from China.

Now, those in the know may realize that Moscow's also a city in Idaho. Appropriately enough, I might add, given the weather there. Nonetheless, it does give one an initial double-take (Unless you're a fan of The Cassandra Complex, which has a famous song about the place. But I gotta say that whenever I hear that thing I feel incredibly old. It's all just bothersome noise to me.)

You don't see this often. The Ninth Circuit only issues a "Moscow" published opinion around once a year; indeed, the last one was from back in 2008. So enjoy.

The opinion itself isn't all that worth reading. Except maybe to help one realize that life as a district judge in Moscow may be little different (again, apart from the weather) than elsewhere. Stalking cases, methamphetamine cases, etc. Rural places ain't that different than the rest of America as far as federal crime's concerned.

Full post as published by California Appellate Report on February 02, 2010 (boomark / email).