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 July 2024 statistics are based on 190 total opinions released by the Court (12 more than in the previous month).
Where the appeals are coming from
- Only the Northern District of Mississippi had a perfect affirmance rate in July 2024, with 3 full affirmances.
- The Northern District of Texas was the district with the most decisions originating from there, 49 total decisions. From the district, 43 of those were full affirmances or appeal dismissals; 5 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 1 was a full vacatur.
- From the Western District of Texas, 40 decisions were full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 was a partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 3 were full reversals; 1 was a published denial of en banc rehearing; and 1 was an order granting en banc rehearing.
- From decisions from the Southern District of Texas there were 27 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 3 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 3 full reversals.
- From the Eastern District of Texas there were 7 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Western District of Louisiana, there were 10 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur.
- From the Eastern District of Louisiana, there were 9 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Middle District of Louisiana, there 3 full affirmances; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Southern District of Mississippi, there were 4 full affirmances; and 1 certification of a question to the state supreme court.
- From petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeal decisions, there were 12 denials.
- From appeals of or petitions for review of other agency actions, there was 1 denial of mandamus; 1 full vacatur; and 4 grants of petitions for review of a agency orders.
What the appeals are about, and who they benefit
- The largest number of appeals were of criminal conviction and/or sentencing issues. 97 resulted in full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 3 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs. 97 of the dispositions favored the prosecution, and 3 favored the defendant.
- In post-conviction relief cases, including state and federal habeas petitions, there was 1 full affirmance; and 1 full vacatur. 1 disposition favored the government, and 1 favored the petitioner.
- In immigration cases, there were 12 dismissals/denials of petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders; and 3 full affirmances of district court judgments. All 15 dispositions favored the government.
- In prisoner suits, there were 8 full affirmances/appeal dismissals. All 8 dispositions favored the government defendants.
- In commercial – civil cases, there were 10 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 3 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 5 full reversals; 1 full vacatur; and 1 certification of a question to a state supreme court. 10 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 10 favored the plaintiff.
- In civil rights/constitutional claims (non-prisoner-suits), there were 6 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 1 full vacatur; 1 published denial of en banc rehearing; 1 order of en banc rehearing; and 1 grant of a petition for agency review. 8 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 4 favored the plaintiff.
- In employment/labor law cases, there were 6 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur. 8 of the dispositions favored an employer, and 1 favored the employees.
- In qualified immunity cases, there were 4 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur. 4 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 1 favored the plaintiff.
- In personal injury/non-commercial tort cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That one disposition favored the defendant.
- In environmental law/toxic tort cases, there was 1 full affirmance; and 1 full reversal. Both dispositions favored the defendant.
- In administrative law cases, there was 1 full affirmance; 1 denial of mandamus; 1 full vacatur; and 3 grants of petitions for review of agency actions. 4 dispositions favored the plaintiff/challenger; and 2 favored the defendant/government actor.
- In tax cases, there was 1 appeal dismissal.
- In voting/election law cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That disposition favored the government defendant.
- In maritime law cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That disposition favored the defendant.
- In bankruptcy cases, there were 4 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 full reversal. 2 of the dispositions favored the creditor or adverse claimant; and 3 favored the debtor.
- In social security cases, there was 1 full affirmance; that 1 disposition favored the benefits determination.
- In class action cases, there was 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; that 1 disposition favored the plaintiffs.
How much law is being made?
- Of the 190 opinions released by the 5th Circuit in July 2024, 44 were designated for publication. 21 of those were full affirmances; 9 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 6 were full reversals; 2 were full vacaturs; 1 was a denial of rehearing en banc; 1 was a grant of en banc rehearing; 1 was a denial of a petition for review of a BIA order; and 3 were grants of petitions for review of agency action.
- 146 of the July opinions were unpublished, including 125 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 2 full reversals; 1 denial of mandamus; 3 full vacaturs; 1 certification to a state supreme court; 11 denials/dismissals of petitions to review BIA orders; and 1 grant of a petition for review of an agency order.
Who was doing what on the Court?
Who was the busiest, in that they were on the most panels issuing opinions in July? (Judge Willett, followed closely by Judges Engelhardt and Oldham). Who was the busiest writer, authoring the most attributed opinions (including majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions)? (Judges Southwick and Douglas, with 6 each). Who concurred the most in separate opinions? (Judge Elrod, with 4). Who authored the most dissenting or dubitante opinions? (Judge Douglas, with 4). How many opinions did the Court issue per curiam, with no author listed? (145, with 144 of those unpublished). Who participated in making the most law, participating in the most panels with published opinions? (Judge Engelhardt, with 14). We have all that below (senior-status judges in italics):
| Judge | On panel | In majority | Author majority | Author concur | Author dissent/ dubitante | Published | Unpublished |
| Richman | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Jones | 28 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 21 | ||
| Smith | 39 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 28 | |
| Stewart | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 11 | |
| Elrod | 22 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 16 | ||
| Southwick | 41 | 39 | 6 | 12 | 29 | ||
| Haynes | 37 | 35 | 1 | (2 w/o op.) | 1 | 7 | 30 |
| Graves | 41 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 29 | |
| Higginson | 30 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 20 | |
| Willett | 44 | 44 | 4 | 12 | 32 | ||
| Ho | 16 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |
| Duncan | 37 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 25 | |
| Engelhardt | 43 | 43 | 2 | 14 | 29 | ||
| Oldham | 43 | 42 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 36 | |
| Wilson | 31 | 31 | 3 | 9 | 22 | ||
| Douglas | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 9 | |
| Ramirez | 21 | 20 | (1 w/o op.) | 7 | 14 | ||
| Dist. Ct. Judge sitting by designation | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||
| King | 19 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 14 | ||
| Jolly | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||
| Higginbotham | 13 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Davis | 7 | 7 | 7 | ||||
| Wiener | 15 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||
| Barksdale | 19 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 14 | ||
| Dennis | 8 | 7 | (1 w/o op.) | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| Clement | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Unattributed/ Clerk | |||||||
| per curiam | 145 (4 with separate concurrence, dissent, or dubitante) | 1 | 144 |
Conclusions? Most decisions in July, as always, were unanimous, though a slightly higher proportion than typical contained separate dissents or concurrences, with 13 dissents and 14 concurrences out of 190 opinions. Among senior-status judges, Judges King and Barksdale had the heaviest participation in panels, participating in the same general level of panels as some of the active-status judges. Meanwhile, among active-status judges, the lightest production in July was from Chief Judge Richman.
Wrap it all together, and an opinion in July 2024 was most likely to be an unpublished per curiam affirming a criminal decision from the Northern District of Texas, with Judges Willett, Engelhardt, and Oldham on the panel.
Take the Fifth 