September 27-28, 2021 opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Designated for publication

  • Rodriguez v. Garland, 20-60008, petition for appeal pf BIA order
    • Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Duncan), immigration
    • Granting Uruguayan citizen’s petition for review of BIA order dismissing appeal from IJ’s denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings and rescind his absentia removal order, and remanding for further proceedings consistent with Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021).
    • The Court held that “[b]oth the rescission of an in absentia order provision and the stop-time rule provision specifically reference the § 1229(a) notice requirements,” and that therefore, under Niz-Chavez, a notice of hearing for absentia removal must contain all the time-and-place language in a single document received by the petitioner.

Unpublished

  • U.S. v. Elizalde-Abelardo, 19-11321, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • Hunter v. Pitre, 20-10762, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Jones, Duncan, Engelhardt), prisoner suit
    • Dismissing appeal for violation of three-strikes rule under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
  • U.S. v. Diggs, 20-11138, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), criminal, compassionate release
    • Affirming denial of motion for compassionate release.
  • U.S. v. Miears, 20-11187, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Higginbotham, Higginson, Duncan), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • Portwood v. Schneider & McKinney, P.C., 20-11231, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Stewart, Haynes, Ho), prisoner suit
    • Dismissing appeal as frivolous from dismissal of § 1983 suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
  • Gillette v. Jackson, 20-60341, appeal from N.D. Miss.
    • per curiam (Davis, Jones, Elrod), prisoner suit
    • Affirming dismissal of prisoner’s suit arising from noise caused by mentally ill inmates, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
  • Torres-De Cabrera v. Garland, 20-60750, petition for review of BIA order
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), immigration
    • Denying Salvadoran citizens’ petition for review of BIA order denying their application for asylum and withholding of removal.
  • U.S. v. Garrett, 21-10009, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming 24-month sentence on revocation of supervised release.
  • U.S. v. Batten, 21-10307, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • Reed v. McDonough, 21-10380, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), employment discrimination
    • Affirming district court’s dismissal of suit by former employee of VA Medical Center in Dallas upon finding “that (1) Reed had failed to establish that her wrongful termination claim against the VA was a recognized cause of action, and (2) Reed had not established a prima facie case of disability discrimination, retaliation, or failure to accommodate.”
  • U.S. v. Garcia, 21-20222, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (King, Costa, Ho), criminal, compassionate release
    • Affirming denial of motion for compassionate release.
  • Logan v. Morris Jeff Community School, 21-30258, appeal from E.D. La.
    • per curiam (King, Costa, Ho), Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
    • Affirming dismissal of parent’s suit under the ADA and IDEA for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
  • U.S. v. Acevedo-Rodriguez, 21-40045, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Stewart, Graves), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Villegas, 21-40160, appeal from E.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (King, Costa, Ho), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Gonzalez-Rodriguez, 21-40197, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (King, Costa, Ho), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • U.S. v. Aleman, 21-50035, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (King, Costa, Ho), criminal, compassionate release
    • Affirming denial of motion for compassionate release.
  • U.S. v. Rea, 21-50064, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming sentence on conviction of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
  • Kendricks v. Nissan Motor Co., 21-60148, appeal from S.D. Miss.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Dennis, Haynes), products liability
    • Affirming dismissal of product liability action on subject-matter jurisdiction grounds.
  • Rhoades v. Martinez, 21-70007, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Higginbotham, Haynes, Graves), § 1983
    • Affirming district court’s dismissal of § 1983 challenge to state appellate court’s denial of mandamus to compel state district court judge, who had been ordered to set an execution date, to provide case materials for plaintiff to raise anew a Batson challenge that had already been denied in state and federal post-conviction proceedings–holding that, under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, the federal court lacked jurisdiction to entertain a collateral attack on the state court’s application of state-law mandamus standards.