Ninth Circuit Orders Injunction Against California ID Mandate

A unanimous Ninth Circuit panel on October 14 directed a preliminary injunction blocking California from enforcing its No Vigilantes Act identification requirement against federal officers, reversing a lower court’s refusal to halt the law. The ruling applies to the provision requiring nonuniformed officers, including federal agents, to display their agency identification and a name or badge number during specified enforcement activity. The law, known as SB 805, covers arrests, detentions and crowd-control operations. Knowing violations carry misdemeanor penalties. Writing for the three-judge panel, Judge Mark Bennett said the federal government was certain to succeed in its challenge. The opinion reasoned that, without congressional authorization, a state may not directly regulate federal governmental conduct, regardless of how much the law interferes with federal operations. The decision reversed Senior U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder’s earlier refusal to issue a preliminary injunction. The appellate panel directed Snyder to enter the injunction on remand. It had previously stayed enforcement while the appeal was pending, according to reports on the ruling.