Pocket hanger ruling?

Is there a generally accepted ruling on whether the balls are in play when they jam in the pocket but do not fall? The attached picture is a better description than I can write, but the gist is that the 5 and 7 balls wedged against the pocket liner and didn't fall. Are they made balls? Are they still in play? The game was 9-ball, but I'd like to know if and what the rules are for other games as well.

Thanks.

Mike.

Thank you so much for the fast and detailed response.

maha said:

the better rule added would be, if any part of a ball in a pocket was touching on the horizontal surface of the table it isnt considered pocketed.

Click to expand...

As a practical matter, your version is of course also correct, but doesn't state the intent as clearly as the quoted rules.

On the table in question, a GC3, jawed balls are just discernably lower than balls sitting on the table surface. The lowest point of the ball is thus below the level surface of the table and so cannot be "touching on the horizontal surface of the table." I think it's fair to say that the radius of the ball is much larger than the micro radius of the lip of the pocket, and the wording "any part of the ball" is not needed and is possibly misleading as to intent. Jawed balls on my table are not on the playing surface. Period.

It probably isn't clear that I'm agreeing with you. A jawed ball can be considered pocketed if it can be shown to be lower than nearby balls sitting on the surface of the table. I suppose this could be measured accurately with a surface gauge... I happen to have one handy and nearby, but maybe not all refs will carry one.