Month: November 2020

Take the Fifth: Nov. 25, 2020 opinions

November 26, 2020

Unpublished Leyva v. Barr, 17-60686, petition for review of BIA order per curiam (Owen, Jones, Stewart), immigration Affirming decision of BIA dismissing appeal of IJ decision ordering removal and denying motion to reopen. Scott v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 19-40923, appeal from E.D. Tex. per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Costa), prisoner suit, frivolous Affirming dismissal … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 25, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 24, 2020 opinions

November 25, 2020

Designated for publication Smith v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 19-20818, appeal from S.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Dennis), defamation Affirming summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart on plaintiff’s defamation claim for being misidentified as a shoplifter by a Wal-Mart employee. Court held that, under standard necessary to overcome the qualified privilege under Texas law that … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 24, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 23, 2020 opinions

November 24, 2020

Designated for publication Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Family Planning and Preventative Health Services, Inc. v. Kauffman, 17-50282, appeal from W.D. Tex. En banc; abortion law, preliminary injunction, stare decisis, § 1983 Owen, J., joined by Jolly, Jones, Smith, Elrod, Southwick, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, JJ.; Haynes, J., concurring in judgment and joining in reasoning … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 23, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 19 and 20, 2020 opinions

November 23, 2020

Designated for publication Joseph v. Bartlett, 19-30014, appeal from E.D. La. Willett, J. (Elrod, Willett, Oldham), Oldham, J., concurring; excessive force, qualified immunity Affirming district court’s denial of qualified immunity-based summary judgment in favor of two defendant officers who repeatedly tased and struck a young man (who subsequently died), reversing the district court’s qualified immunity … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 19 and 20, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 18, 2020 opinions

November 19, 2020

Unpublished Velazquez v. U.S., 19-10138, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Barksdale, Elrod, Ho), Federal Tort Claims Act, prisoner suit, jurisdiction Affirming 12(b)(1) dismissal of federal prisoner’s FTCA claim for injuries received responding to a fellow inmate’s calls for assistance, as the Inmate Accident Compensation Act provided the exclusive remedy. Jones v. Lubbock County Hospital … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 18, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 16, 2020 opinions

November 17, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. McKinney, 19-50801, appel from W.D. Tex. Southwick, J. (Owen, Davis, Southwick), criminal, search and seizure Vacating conviction and sentence based on conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that district court erred in denying motion to suppress evidence of discovery of firearm by an … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 16, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

November 16, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Batiste, 19-30927, appeal from E.D. La. Engelhardt, J., (Graves, Costa, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing, First Step Act Affirming in part sentence of imprisonment and denial of sentence-reduction under the First Step Act, but remanding in part the portion of the sentence regarding the term of supervised release for the district court … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 12, 2020 opinions

November 13, 2020

Designated for publication Richardson v. Hughs, 20-50774, appeal from W.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Oldham), intervention, election law Denying motion to intervene on appeal, by plaintiff in similar but separate case. This motion arises from two lawsuits challenging Texas’s signature-verification scheme for absentee ballots. Noting that, “[p]erhaps because there is no rule explicitly allowing … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 12, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 11, 2020 opinions

November 12, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Beaudion, 19-30635, appeal from W.D. La. Oldham, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), criminal, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act Affirming conviction of defendant for drug offenses, upholding district court’s denial of motion to suppress evidence gained through government’s surveillance of the GPS coordinates on his girlfriend’s (and drug-dealing partner’s) … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 11, 2020 opinions