Designated for publication Dennis, J. (Richman, Dennis, Haynes), qualified immunity, municipal liability Reversing qualified immunity summary judgment on plaintiff’s false arrest claim, but affirming summary judgment on excessive force claim and on municipal liability claim. As to the false arrest claim, the Court held that the arresting officer entered the curtilage of the plaintiff’s property … More August 15, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Willett), attorney discipline Affirming three-judge district court panel’s decision imposing a 12-month suspension from practice in front of that court after substance-abuse-related inappropriate courtroom behavior and failures to show up for clients’ sentencing hearings. The Court rejected the attorney’s argument that only the presiding judge can impose sanctions … More August 11-14, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Wiener, Graves, Douglas), prisoner suit Vacating dismissal of Louisiana state prisoner’s § 1983 suit as frivolous, and remanding for further proceedings. The Court held that the magistrate and district court judges abused their discretion in finding as frivolous the plaintiff’s claim that his procedural due process rights were violated when … More August 10, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Elrod, Willett), prisoner suit Affirming dismissal of state prisoner’s sec. 1983 claims arising from prison officials’ actions regarding his parole hearing, as running afoul of the Heck rule barring sec. 1983 claims that are essentially challenges to the term of confinement. The Court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that he … More August 9, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Clement, Elrod, Willett), criminal, sentencing Affirming 405-month sentence on conviction of enticement of a minor, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and transfer of obscene material to a minor; affirming $100 special assessment on each of three counts; but vacating $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims … More August 8, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Dennis, Engelhardt, Oldham), criminal, sentencing Vacating sentence–120-month sentences on each of three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, to run consecutively “[o]nly to the extent it produces a total aggregate of 188 months”–as impermissibly vague, and remanding for resentencing. The Court held that the district court did … More August 7, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Dennis, J. (King, Jones, Dennis), Jones, J., dissenting, voting rights, Eighth Amendment, Equal Protection, standing, sovereign immunity, Ex parte Young Reversing district court’s dismissal of plaintiff class’s Eighth Amendment challenge to Mississippi constitution’s permanent disenfranchisement of certain felons; affirming dismissal of plaintiff class’s Equal Protection claim against the Mississippi Secretary of State … More August 4, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Barksdale, Southwick, Higginson), bankruptcy Affirming bankruptcy and district court judgments that the creditor had released its claims against the debtor and that, as a matter of contract interpretation, the claims were not within certain defined “permitted claims” allowed under the parties’ governing agreements. Unpublished per curiam (King, Haynes, Higginson), criminal … More August 3, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Southwick, Ho), Southwick, J., dissenting; Federal Power Act, administrative law Reversing FERC orders implementing cost allocation scheme for electrical grid improvements in much of the American West, in the WestConnect region, holding that the orders violate the Federal Power Act as a matter of law and that FERC inadequately … More August 2, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Barksdale, J. (Barksdale, Southwick, Higginson), qualified immunity Affirming qualified immunity summary judgment on failure-to-protect claims arising from detainee’s suicide, based primarily on whether jailer and officer defendants possessed subjective knowledge of a substantial risk of suicide by the detainee. The Court, based on the rule of orderliness, rejected the plaintiffs’ proposed objective-unreasonableness … More August 1, 2023, opinions
