LA Focus: Ridley-Thomas Legal Fight Continues as Attorneys Seek Full Ninth Circuit Review
Lisa Collins | August 26, 2026
Mark Ridley-Thomas’ attorneys plan to seek full Ninth Circuit review of his upheld federal convictions on Sept. 16, 2026. He will remain on bail while the request is pending.
The legal battle surrounding former Los Angeles County Supervisor and City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas is far from over. Attorneys for Ridley-Thomas have confirmed that they will ask the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reconsider his case after a three-judge panel affirmed his federal convictions earlier this month.
The August 3 ruling upheld Ridley-Thomas’ convictions on one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery involving programs receiving federal funds, and five counts of honest-services mail and wire fraud.
The decision came nearly two years after oral arguments were heard in November 2024, a lengthy wait that had left Ridley-Thomas, his attorneys and supporters awaiting a ruling on an appeal that raised significant questions about the evidence and legal instructions underlying his conviction.
Now his attorneys are preparing the next phase.
In correspondence to L.A. Focus, Ridley-Thomas’ legal team said it plans to file a petition for rehearing en banc on September 16, asking a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges to review the three-judge panel’s decision.
“Thank you for your continued support of Dr. Ridley-Thomas during the many months that we’ve awaited a decision. After nearly two years of delay, the Ninth Circuit denied relief. We are disappointed with the panel’s decision, but we are not dissuaded,” the correspondence stated.
“The next step in Dr. Ridley-Thomas’s journey is a petition for rehearing en banc, which asks a larger panel of judges to hear his appeal. We will file that petition on September 16, 2026. Dr. Ridley-Thomas will remain on bail during the pendency of en banc proceedings.”
The planned filing means that despite the appellate panel’s ruling, Ridley-Thomas’ effort to overturn his convictions continues.
Ridley-Thomas was convicted in 2023 following a highly publicized federal trial centered on his dealings with former USC School of Social Work Dean Marilyn Flynn. Prosecutors alleged that Flynn provided assistance involving a $100,000 transaction in which funds originating from a Ridley-Thomas campaign committee were transferred to USC and subsequently directed, through a fiscal intermediary, to a nonprofit associated with Ridley-Thomas’ son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. Prosecutors argued that Flynn provided that assistance in exchange for Ridley-Thomas’ support for county business involving the university.
The jury rejected most of the government’s bribery and honest-services fraud theories but convicted Ridley-Thomas on seven counts arising from the remaining alleged quid pro quo. The Ninth Circuit panel concluded that the evidence was sufficient to sustain those convictions and rejected the challenges raised on appeal.
Ridley-Thomas and his supporters have maintained throughout the case that his actions constituted legitimate constituent and public-policy work rather than corruption. His appellate team challenged multiple aspects of the prosecution and trial, including the legal standards governing bribery and honest-services fraud and whether the alleged benefit at issue constituted a legally sufficient “thing of value.”
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling represented a significant setback, but the petition for en banc review gives the defense another avenue to challenge the panel’s conclusions before the appellate court.
En banc rehearings are neither automatic nor routinely granted. Ridley-Thomas’ attorneys must first persuade enough Ninth Circuit judges that the case warrants reconsideration. Because of the Ninth Circuit’s size, an en banc rehearing ordinarily is conducted not by every active judge on the court, but by an 11-judge panel consisting of the chief judge and 10 additional judges selected under the court’s procedures.
Ridley-Thomas attorneys made clear that they view the September filing as another stage in what could remain a prolonged legal fight.
“We will continue to fight for the vindication of Dr. Ridley-Thomas’s right to meaningful due process and a fair trial at every juncture,” the correspondence stated.
The announcement is likely to resonate with the network of clergy, community leaders, civil rights advocates and longtime Ridley-Thomas supporters who have continued to rally around the veteran Los Angeles political figure throughout his prosecution and appeal.
For those supporters, the August ruling did not settle the broader questions they have raised about the prosecution or the fairness of his trial. For Ridley-Thomas’ legal team, the next date is now clear: September 16, when attorneys intend to formally ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider the panel’s decision.
If rehearing is granted, the case would receive another round of appellate review. If it is denied, Ridley-Thomas would still have the option of seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
For now, Ridley-Thomas remains on bail—and legal fight continues.