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 each court year (Oct.-Sept.) we will aggregate that–all of which provides useful insights into the inner workings of the Court, the relative success of various appeals, and more.
The March 2022 statistics are based on 356 total opinions released by the Court.
Where the appeals are coming from
- No district had a perfect affirmance rate in March.
- The most appellate decisions came from the Western District of Texas, with 87 decisions from the 5th Circuit on cases originating there. 75 were full affirmances or appeal dismissals; 3 were partial affirmances/partial reversals or vacaturs; 3 were full reversals; 3 were full vacaturs; 1 was a certification of questions to a state supreme court; 1 was an order of en banc rehearing; and 1 was a denial of a motion for stay.
- From decisions out of the Northern District of Texas, there were 81 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full reversal; and 3 full vacaturs.
- From the Southern District of Texas, there were 64 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 2 full reversals; and 8 full vacaturs.
- From the Eastern District of Texas, there were 14 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Western District of Louisiana, there were 12 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 3 full vacaturs.
- From the Eastern District of Louisiana, there were 9 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 certification of a question to a state supreme court.
- From the Middle District of Louisiana, there were 9 full affirmances; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Southern District of Mississippi, there were 11 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Northern District of Mississippi, there were 2 full affirmances; and 1 full reversal.
- In petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals decisions, there were 31 petition denials/dismissals; and 4 petition grants or remands.
- In petitions for other agency review, there was 1 denial and 1 grant.
What the appeals are about
- The largest number of appeals are of criminal conviction and/or sentencing issues. 181 resulted in full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 was a partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 17 were full vacaturs/remands; and 1 was an order of rehearing en banc.
- In post-conviction relief cases, including state and federal habeas petitions, there were 8 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 full vacatur.
- In immigration cases, there was 1 full affirmance; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 31 dismissals/denials of petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders; and 4 grants/remands of petitions to review BIA orders.
- In prisoner suits, there were 19 full affirmances/appeal dismissals.
- In commercial – civil cases, there were 18 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 3 partial affirmances/partial reversals or vacaturs; and 1 certification of questions to a state supreme court.
- In civil rights/constitutional claims (non-prisoner-suits), there were 18 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 full reversal; 2 full vacaturs; and 1 denial of a motion for stay.
- In qualified immunity cases, there were 3 full affirmances; and 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur.
- In employment/labor law cases, there were 10 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 5 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 1 full reversal; 1 grant of a petition for review of an agency ruling; and 1 denial of a petition for review of an agency ruling.
- In personal injury/non-commercial tort cases, there were 10 full affirmances/appeal dismissals.
- In bankruptcy cases, there were 2 full affirmances; and 1 full reversal.
- In tax law cases, there were 2 full affirmances.
- In administrative law cases, there was 1 full affirmance.
- In products liability cases, there was 1 full affirmance.
- In voting/election law cases, there were 4 full reversals; and 1 certification of a question to a state supreme court.
- In maritime law cases, there were 2 full affirmances.
How much law is being made?
- Of the 356 opinions released by the 5th Circuit in March 2022, 52 were designated for publication. 28 of those were full affirmances; 5 were partial affirmances/partial reversal/vacaturs; 5 were full reversals; 7 were full vacaturs; 1 was an order for en banc rehearing; 4 were denials of petitions for review of BIA orders; 1 was a grant of a petition for review of a BIA order; and 1 was a denial of a motion for stay.
- 305 of the March opinions were unpublished, including 250 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 6 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 2 full reversals; 13 full vacaturs; 2 certifications of questions to state supreme courts; 27 denials/dismissals of petitions to review BIA orders; 3 grants of petitions to review BIA orders; and 1 denial of a motion.
Who was doing what on the Court?
Who was the busiest, in that they were on the most panels issuing opinions in March? (Judge Wilson, followed closely by Judge Southwick.) Who was the busiest writer, authoring the most attributed opinions? (Judge Higginbotham, followed by Judges Costa, Elrod, Willett, and Wilson.) How many opinions did the Court issue per curiam, with no author listed? (309, with 302 of those unpublished.) Who participated in making the most law, participating in the most panels with published opinions? (Judges Higginbotham, Willett, and Wilson, followed by Judge Smith.) We have all that below (senior-status judges in italics):
| Judge | On panel | In majority | Author majority | Author concur | Author dissent/ dubitante | Published | Unpublished |
| Owen | 15 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | |
| Jones | 46 | 45 | 1 | 6 | 40 | ||
| Smith | 48 | 48 | 4 | 12 | 36 | ||
| Stewart | 48 | 47 | 7 | 41 | |||
| Dennis | 64 | 63 | 2 | 6 | 58 | ||
| Elrod | 53 | 51 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 43 | |
| Southwick | 70 | 70 | 2 | 9 | 61 | ||
| Haynes | 63 | 61 | 2 | 9 | 54 | ||
| Graves | 59 | 58 | 1 | 8 | 51 | ||
| Higginson | 39 | 39 | 3 | 11 | 28 | ||
| Costa | 53 | 51 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 43 | |
| Willett | 44 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 31 | |
| Ho | 46 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 39 | |
| Duncan | 45 | 44 | 4 | 8 | 37 | ||
| Engelhardt | 48 | 47 | 8 | 40 | |||
| Oldham | 64 | 63 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 56 | |
| Wilson | 72 | 71 | 5 | 13 | 59 | ||
| Dist. Ct. Judge sitting by designation | |||||||
| King | 30 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 26 | ||
| Jolly | 30 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 26 | ||
| Higginbotham | 37 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 24 |
| Davis | 30 | 30 | 1 | 29 | |||
| Wiener | 57 | 57 | 1 | 2 | 55 | ||
| Barksdale | 16 | 16 | 3 | 13 | |||
| Clement | 12 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 8 | ||
| per curiam | 309 | 7 | 302 |
Conclusions? Most decisions in March, as always, were unanimous, with only 10 dissenting opinions and 5 concurrences out of 356 opinions. By far the most decisions are per curiam, at 309, against 47 authored opinions. The Fifth Circuit continues to have a very active senior-status bench, with Judge Wiener participating in more panels than many of the active-status judges, and Judges King, Jolly, Higginbotham, and Davis participating in as many panels as most of the active-status judges. Meanwhile, among active-status judges, the lightest production in March was from Chief Judge Owen.
Wrap it all together, and an opinion in March 2022 was most likely to be an unpublished per curiam affirming a criminal decision from the Western District of Texas, with Judges Wilson, Southwick, and Dennis on the panel.
Take the Fifth 