in an opinion by Judge Kozinski. As a former Kozinski clerk, I'm doubtless biased, but one thing I've long admired about many of the Judge's opinions is how they combine clear writing with effective use of the facts. This is an excellent example, one that students of legal rhetoric (whether they are law students, lawyers, or law professors) should find much worth reading. Fourth Amendment cases are often very fact-heavy, and the trick is to marshal the facts in a way that's honest, clear, and persuasive. Judge Kozinski does a first-rate job of this here.

Thanks to How Appealing for the pointer.

I blogged about this case (written by my former boss Judge Kozinski) in November, when the Ninth Circuit ordered the defendants to "show cause ... why they should not be assessed double costs and attorney's fees for filing a frivolous appeal."

The defendants (represented by the City Attorney's office) responded; yesterday the Ninth Circuit issued a follow-up opinion rejecting their explanation, and faulting them for misrepresenting portions of the record. Memo to lawyers: Be sure your descriptions of the facts in the case are completely accurate; as an ethical matter, you should always do this, but as a practical matter, you should be especially sure to do it if the court has already expressed some skepticism about your professional judgment.

The Tacoma News-Tribune, by the way, reports that "City Manager Eric Anderson ... Anderson said he'll hire an independent counsel to study whether the city attorney's staff acted properly within the scope of their duties in the case."

UPDATE: A reader kindly passed along the link to the original November opinion, which I couldn't find before.