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United States v. Richard O. Kelly, Sr., Richard H. Kirschner
Citations: 15 F.3d 1092; 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 37624; 1993 WL 539266Docket: 93-50238
Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; December 28, 1993; Federal Appellate Court
Richard Kirschner appealed a district court's sanctions for allegedly making misleading statements in a motion for bail pending appeal for a criminal defendant. Kirschner contended that the court abused its discretion in imposing sanctions and that his due process rights were violated. The Ninth Circuit found that the district court did indeed abuse its discretion, thus rendering the due process claims unnecessary for consideration. The court emphasized that for sanctions to be valid, the behavior must be sanctionable under the relevant authority. The district court likely acted under its inherent authority to maintain judicial integrity, which requires restraint and discretion when imposing sanctions. Previous case law mandates that sanctions imposed under inherent authority must be supported by a finding of bad faith, which the district court failed to provide in this instance. The core issue stemmed from Kirschner's claim that the prosecution breached a plea agreement by "requesting" an additional $600,000 in restitution. The court found this claim misleading, as the prosecution had actually requested a fine and mentioned restitution only in response to the judge's concerns. While Kirschner's argument was somewhat contextually misleading, the court concluded that there was insufficient evidence of bad faith on his part. Given that Kirschner was sanctioned for making a colorable argument without bad faith, the Ninth Circuit reversed the sanctions and remanded the case. The disposition is not designated for publication and may not be cited in future cases except under specific legal doctrines.