En Banc Ninth Circuit to Review Grounds of Sex Offender’s Appeal

The US Justice Department has persuaded the Ninth Circuit to undertake a full-panel review of whether a convicted child sex offender should have been able to challenge the terms of his sentence.

An en banc proceeding will be held to determine whether Keith Atherton satisfied an exception under US v. Wells that would allow him to appeal his plea agreement after he waived his right to do so, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday.

Judge Mary H. Murguia said a majority of the Ninth Circuit voted to vacate the court’s July 2024 opinion, in which ...