Case o' The Week: "Tend to Your own Knitting," Ninth Warns Gov't – Wells and CJA Appointments

“As Justice Louis D. Brandeis warned many years ago: ‘The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.’ Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 479, 48 S.Ct. 564, 72 L.Ed. 944 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting).   After all, United States prosecutors are bound to appear in the name of Justice. We are of the opinion that the Government overstepped its bounds early in the pretrial process and continued to overreach during trial. The Government's actions, unchecked by the district court at critical points, so tipped the scales of justice as to render Wells' trial fundamentally unfair. Therefore, we reverse and remand for a new trial.”  United States v. James Michael Wells, 2017 WL 6459199 (9thCir. Dec. 19, 2017), decision available here.Players:Decision by visiting DJ Walter, joined by Judges Tashima and Nguyen. Concurrence by Judge Nguyen. Partial concurrence and…

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