⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit hears a Nevada prisoner's lawsuit over exposure to COVID-19. He sued prison officials, alleging that they knowingly moved infected prisoners into his housing unit and caused him to contract COVID. The district court refused to end the case without trial, finding a genuine factual dispute over whether officials responded reasonably to the danger. The officials have appealed the denial of qualified immunity. That doctrine protects individual officials from damages unless they violated a constitutional right that was clearly established at the time. This is an interlocutory appeal, meaning an appeal before the trial-court proceedings are finished. Such an appeal can address legal immunity questions, but generally cannot be used simply to reweigh evidence about disputed events. Recording note: The court's original file cuts off during the judge's closing, after both sides finish and the case is submitted. That original cutoff is preserved.

Smith v. Baca, et al. (No. 24-7816) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 29, 2026.