⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hears oral argument in Stewart v. City of Tacoma. The case asks whether the City of Tacoma can be held liable under Section 1983 for seizing and destroying thirteen hundred pounds of hemp from a storage unit without notice or a hearing. Mr. Stewart and his company Tierra Harvest allege that Tacoma police took the crop, which was legally possessed under federal and state law, authorized its destruction the day after seizing it, and refused to test whether it was lawful hemp or illegal marijuana. The district court ruled for the city on summary judgment, finding no municipal policy or custom to support a Monell claim. Stewart argues that the seizure and destruction violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, and that the city's practice of destroying suspected contraband without further process is a custom that makes the city itself liable. The city counters that even if individual officers violated the Constitution, there is no evidence of a municipal policy that caused the violation, and that the hemp was stored unlawfully under Washington regulations, making it contraband subject to lawful destruction. A three-judge panel of Judges Hawkins, McKeown, and Christen heard the argument on August 5, 2026.

Stewart v. City of Tacoma (No. 25-4271) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 5, 2026.