Month: February 2024

February 28, 2024, opinions

February 29, 2024

Unpublished per curiam (Jones, Barksdale, Elrod), Elrod, J., concurring; criminal, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence Affirming convictions and sentences on drug trafficking-related charges related to sales of drugs by defendants in one of the defendants’ nightclubs. Judge Elrod concurred, opining that, while the admission of certain testimony and a redacted statement were harmless error, they “nevertheless … More February 28, 2024, opinions

February 27, 2024, opinions

February 28, 2024

Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Wilson, Douglas), Jones, J., concurring; habeas corpus, Brady violation, due process Denying motion for permission to file a successive § 2254 petition by capital inmate to urge Brady violations regarding potentially impeaching evidence as to testimony from the petitioner’s girlfriend and due process violations regarding the petitioner’s request for … More February 27, 2024, opinions

February 26, 2024, opinions

February 27, 2024

Designated for publication per curiam (Jolly, Engelhardt, Oldham), criminal, sentencing, Miranda Affirming conviction and 235-month sentence on drug and firearm offenses. The Court held that the district court did not err in denying a motion to suppress a non-Mirandized statement by the defendant upon his arrest that he had a handgun in his bedroom, because … More February 26, 2024, opinions

February 23, 2024, opinions

February 26, 2024

Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), removal, jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction Affirming dismissal of two non-diverse defendants as improperly joined and denial of remand, and affirming dismissal of out-of-state defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction, in action arising from injuries suffered during crash of single-engine airplane piloted by the plaintiff. The crash occurred in … More February 23, 2024, opinions

February 22, 2024, opinions

February 23, 2024

Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Wilson), breach of contract Affirming judgment in favor of plaintiff on claim that it was entitled to a commission for its role promoting the sale of the defendant, its former client; applying basic principles of contract interpretation and finding that the parties’ contract displaced the common law procuring … More February 22, 2024, opinions

February 19-21, 2024, opinions

February 22, 2024

Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Haynes, Douglas), criminal, sentencing, restitution Affirming convictions for healthcare fraud and receiving Medicare kickbacks, upholding the admission of recordings of the co-conspirators, the calculation of the amount of improper benefit for sentencing purposes, and the calculation of the restitution award. per curiam (voting against en banc rehearing: Stewart, Elrod, … More February 19-21, 2024, opinions

February 14-16, 2024, opinions

February 19, 2024

Designated for publication Dennis, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting; False Claims Act Affirming dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of former employee’s False Claims Act claims against former employer, claiming retaliation for reporting fraudulent misrepresentations made to the Navy, and summary judgment dismissal of remaining claim; holding that “the district court correctly held … More February 14-16, 2024, opinions

February 12, 2024, opinions

February 14, 2024

Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Smith, Graves, Wilson), Graves, J., dissenting; criminal Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, rejecting argument that the government had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew he was unlawfully in the United States when he possessed the firearm. The defendant argued … More February 12, 2024, opinions

February 9, 2024, opinions

February 12, 2024

Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Graves, Higginson, Douglas), Fair Labor Standards Act Granting petition for panel rehearing, and substituting new opinion in place of August 16, 2023, panel opinion that had affirmed the district court’s order certifying a collective action under the FLSA for a claim by the facility’s drug rehabilitation patients who were assigned … More February 9, 2024, opinions

February 8, 2024, opinions

February 9, 2024

Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting, sec. 1983, standing On holding that plaintiff lacked standing, vacating district court’s judgment that plaintiff–incarcerated capital inmate–had shown that a provision of Texas’s DNA testing statute was unconstitutional and that he was entitled to DNA testing, and remanding for dismissal of action for lack … More February 8, 2024, opinions