Obrey

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

RONALD L. OBREY, JR., 

Plaintiff-Appellant, No. 03-16849 v. D.C. No. HANSFORD T. JOHNSON, in his  CV-02-00033- capacity as the Acting Secretary of MLR/LEK the Navy, OPINION Defendant-Appellee.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii Manuel L. Real, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 3, 2004—Honolulu, Hawaii

Filed March 4, 2005

Before: Melvin Brunetti, Susan P. Graber, and Jay S. Bybee, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Bybee

2607 2610 OBREY v. JOHNSON

COUNSEL

Clayton C. Ikei, Honolulu, Hawaii, for the plaintiff-appellant.

E. Roy Hawkens, Jeffrey Clair, Appellate Staff Civil Divi- sion, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the defendant-appellee. OBREY v. JOHNSON 2611

OPINION

BYBEE, Circuit Judge:

This appeal requires us to clarify and apply the harmless error test applicable to civil trials in our circuit.

I.

Appellant, Ronald L. Obrey, Jr., originally filed suit for declaratory and injunctive…