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 December 2024 statistics are based on 164 total opinions released by the Court (7 fewer than in the previous month).
Where the appeals are coming from
- Only the Middle District of Louisiana had a perfect affirmance rate in decisions issued by the Fifth Circuit in December 2024, with 1 full affirmance of a decision originating from there, along with 1 published denial of en banc rehearing. The Northern District of Mississippi technically also had a 100% affirmance rate, if you can have 100% of nothing, as there were 0 decisions from the Fifth Circuit in December originating from there.
- The Northern District of Texas was the district with the most decisions originating from there in December, 49 total decisions. From the district, 45 of those were full affirmances or appeal dismissals; 2 were full reversals; and 2 were full vacaturs.
- From the Western District of Texas, 28 decisions were full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 2 were full reversals; and 5 were full vacaturs.
- From decisions from the Southern District of Texas there were 26 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 3 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 2 full reversals; 2 full vacaturs; and 1 published grant of a motion.
- From the Eastern District of Texas there were 6 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Eastern District of Louisiana there were 5 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 2 full reversals.
- From the Western District of Louisiana, there were 9 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 1 full reversal; and 2 full vacaturs.
- From the Southern District of Mississippi, there were 3 full affirmances; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur.
- From petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeal decisions, there were 6 denials; and 1 grant.
- From appeals of or petitions for review of other agency actions, there was 1 grant of a petition for review of an agency order.
What the appeals are about, and who they benefit
- The largest number of appeals were of criminal conviction and/or sentencing issues. 89 resulted in full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 3 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 4 were full reversals; and 7 were full vacaturs. 91 of the dispositions favored the prosecution, and 12 favored the defendant.
- In post-conviction relief cases, including state and federal habeas petitions, there were 5 full affirmances; and 1 full reversal. All 6 dispositions favored the government.
- In immigration cases, there were 6 dismissals/denials of petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders; and 1 grant of a petition for review of a BIA order. 6 dispositions favored the government; and 1 disposition favored the immigrant.
- In prisoner suits, there was 1 full affirmance/appeal dismissal; and 1 full vacatur. 1 disposition favored the government defendants; and 1 favored the prisoner.
- In commercial – civil cases, there were 6 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; and 1 full vacatur. 6 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 2 favored the plaintiff.
- In civil rights/constitutional claims (non-prisoner-suits), there were 7 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full vacaturs; and 1 published denial of en banc rehearing. 8 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 2 favored the plaintiff.
- In employment/labor law cases, there were 4 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur. 5 of the dispositions favored an employer, and 1 favored the employees.
- In qualified immunity cases, there were 3 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur. 2 dispositions favored the government defendants, and 2 favored the plaintiffs.
- In personal injury/non-commercial tort cases, there were 3 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur. All 4 dispositions favored the defendant.
- In administrative law cases, there was 1 grant of a petition to review an agency action; and 1 published grant of a motion. 1 dispositions favored the defendant/agency; and 1 favored the challengers.
- In bankruptcy cases, there were 2 full affirmances; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 3 full reversals; and 1 full vacatur. 2 dispositions favored the creditor; and 5 dispositions favored the debtor.
- In attorney discipline cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That 1 disposition favored the sanctioning court.
- In environmental law/toxic tort cases, there was 1 full affirmance; and 1 full reversal. Both dispositions favored the plaintiff.
- In social security cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That 1 disposition favored the administrator.
- In healthcare law suits, there was 1 full vacatur in a suit challenging the ACA. That 1 disposition favored the government.
How much law is being made?
- Of the 164 opinions released by the 5th Circuit in December 2024, 37 were designated for publication. 21 of those were full affirmances; 4 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 6 were full reversals; 3 were full vacaturs; 1 was a published denial of en banc rehearing; 1 was a dismissal or denial of a petition for review of a BIA decision; and 1 was a grant of a petition for review of an agency order.
- 127 of the December opinions were unpublished, including 102 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 4 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 4 full reversals; 10 full vacaturs; 5 denials/dismissals of petitions to review BIA orders; 1 grant of a petition for review of a BIA order; and 1 grant 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 December? (Judge Smith). Who was the busiest writer, authoring the most attributed opinions (including majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions)? (Chief Judge Elrod and Judge Higginson, with 7 each). Who concurred the most in separate opinions? (Chief Judge Elrod, with 2). Who authored the most dissenting or dubitante opinions? (Judge Higginson, with 2). How many opinions did the Court issue per curiam, with no author listed? (129, with 126 of those unpublished). Who participated in making the most law, participating in the most panels with published opinions? (Judge Smith, 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 |
| Elrod | 18 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 7 | |
| Jones | 26 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 19 |
| Smith | 43 | 42 | 4 | 14 | 29 | ||
| Stewart | 35 | 34 | 1 | 8 | 27 | ||
| Richman | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Southwick | 25 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 17 | ||
| Haynes | 30 | 29 | 6 | 24 | |||
| Graves | 29 | 28 | 1 | 6 | 23 | ||
| Higginson | 25 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 13 | |
| Willett | 29 | 28 | 2 | 7 | 22 | ||
| Ho | 18 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | |
| Duncan | 35 | 34 | 8 | 27 | |||
| Engelhardt | 24 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 17 | ||
| Oldham | 21 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | |
| Wilson | 30 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 24 | ||
| Douglas | 31 | 30 | 7 | 24 | |||
| Ramirez | 23 | 22 | 4 | 19 | |||
| Dist. Ct. Judge sitting by designation | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| King | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Jolly | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Higginbotham | 14 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Davis | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Wiener | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Barksdale | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Dennis | 14 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| Clement | 16 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 8 | ||
| Unattributed/ Clerk | 1 | 1 | |||||
| per curiam | 129 (3 with separate concurrence, dissent, or dubitante) | 3 | 126 |
Conclusions? Most decisions in December, as always, were unanimous, with 6 dissents and 5 concurrences out of 164 opinions. Among senior-status judges, Judges Higginbotham, Dennis, and Clement had the heaviest participation in panels. Meanwhile, among active-status judges, the lightest production in December was from Judge Richman.
Wrap it all together, and an opinion in December 2024 was most likely to be an unpublished per curiam affirming a criminal decision from the Northern District of Texas, with Judges Smith, Duncan, and Douglas on the panel.
Take the Fifth 