Unpublished Marediya v. Garland, 19-60741, petition for review of BIA order per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Costa), immigration Denying in part and dismissing in part Indian citizens’ petition for review of BIA order dismissing appeal of IJ’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, and adverse credibility finding. De Bastos … More Take the Fifth: April 15, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Williams, 20-40157, appeal from S.D. Tex. Oldham, J. (Higginbotham, Costa, Oldham), criminal, restitution Affirming restitution award of more than $2 million for defendant on guilty plea conviction of four counts of wire fraud involving purported sales of cattle in which defendant absconded with the money without producing the cattle. “The … More Take the Fifth: April 14, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Impax Laboratories, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, 19-60394, petition for review of order of the FTC Costa, J. (Southwick, Costa, Duncan), antitrust law Denying petition for review of FTC order that concluded a rule-of-reason analysis to determine that the respondent’s acceptance more than $100 million in reverse payment settlements to delay the … More Take the Fifth: April 13, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Hutcheson v. Dallas County, Texas, 20-10383, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Dennis), excessive force, qualified immunity Affirming summary judgment dismissal of plaintiffs’ excessive force and failure to train claims on qualified immunity grounds, in claims arising from officers’ restraint of victim at county jail as victim was actively resisting … More Take the Fifth: April 12, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Texas v. Rettig, 18-10545, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Barksdale, Haynes, Willett), Ho, J., dissenting (joined by Jones, Smith, Elrod, Duncan, JJ.); nondelegation doctrine Denying petition for rehearing en banc (Chief Judge Owen and Judges Stewart, Dennis, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Engelhardt, and Wilson voting against rehearing). Judge Ho … More Take the Fifth: April 8-9, 2021 opinions
Brackeen v. Haaland, 18-11479, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Jones, Smith, Wiener, Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham), Indian Child Welfare Act, standing, Administrative Procedures Act No one principal opinion commanded a majority of the en banc Court as to the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare … More Take the Fifth: April 6 and 7, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Navarro-Jusino, 20-40401, appeal from E.D. Tex. Smith, J. (King, Smith, Haynes), criminal, sentencing Affirming 120-month sentence on one count of wire fraud, an 87-month upward variance from the guidelines. The Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in the sentencing because (1) the wire fraud of … More Take the Fifth: April 5, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Knowlton, 19-41042, appeal from E.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Elrod, Willett, Engelhardt), criminal Affirming conviction for receiving material containing child pornography. The Court held that the flash drives, external hard drives, and computer hard drives were “materials containing” child pornography and not merely child pornography itself, rejecting defendant’s argument that he … More Take the Fifth: April 1-2, 2021 opinions
We report after each month on interesting statistics from the data we generate from the daily opinion summaries from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and at the end of a year we will aggregate that–all of which provides useful insights into the inner workings of the Court, the relative success of … More Take the Fifth: March 2021 statistics
Designated for publication U.S. v. Burney, 20-10529, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (King, Smith, Haynes), criminal, sentencing Affirming 60-month sentence on guilty plea to wire fraud. The presentence report recommended a guideline range of 12-18 months, “[b]ased on the severity of the offense, Burney’s acceptance of responsibility, and his criminal history,” but the district … More Take the Fifth: March 29-31, 2021 opinions
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