Willett, J. (Dennis, Willett, Duncan), remand Reversing waiver-based order of remand based on defendant’s participation in state court proceedings. The Fifth Circuit revisited a waiver-based remand dispute after the en banc court had cleared out circuit precedent that the panel had held tied its hands on an earlier review. Edward Festeryga, sued in Texas state … More September 11, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, King, Graves), Elrod, C.J., concurring; Graves, J., dissenting; criminal, Second Amendment Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. Alvaro Alejandro Mancilla pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) after he and his cousin were arrested at a … More September 10, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Ho, J. (Haynes, Ho, Oldham), criminal, restitution Affirming judgment that defendant’s service-connected payments were not exempt from garnishment to pay restitution order. The Fifth Circuit affirmed a writ of garnishment on $46,084.49 in Christopher Allen-Shinn’s USAA account to satisfy $92,500 in restitution from his child-pornography conviction, holding that 26 U.S.C. § 6334(a)(10)’s … More September 9, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Haynes, Ho, Oldham), Ho and Oldham, concurring; oral argument Ordering that panel will entertain additional oral argument via Zoom if appellant’s lead counsel requests, since lead counsel had emergency hospitalization shortly before argument. Judge Haynes noted that argument went forward because attorneys on both sides had traveled to attend the … More September 8, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Richman, Willett, Douglas), Douglas, J., dissenting; international custody, Hague Convention Granting panel rehearing, and entering new panel opinion reversing and remanding to district court with instructions to order the return of child to father in Venezuela. A Venezuelan father, Jose Leonardo Brito Guevara, sought the return of his daughter, A.F., … More September 4-5, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Southwick, Oldham, Ramirez), Ramirez, J., dissenting in part; Oldham, J., dissenting; immigration, due process, Alien Enemies Act, habeas corpus On remand from U.S. Supreme Court’s grant of temporary restraining order halting deportation of petitioners under the Alien Enemies Act, granting preliminary injunction blocking removal of petitioners, leaving in place government’s … More September 1-3, 2025, opinions
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 … More August 2025 opinion statistics
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Wiener, Willett, Ho), Ho, J., dissenting; criminal, search and seizure Affirming grant of motion to suppress evidence, begrudgingly. The exclusionary rule has long provoked controversy, with critics deriding it as a blunt judicial tool that frees the guilty when police make mistakes. The oft-quoted Cardozo line—“the criminal is to go … More August 29, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Richman, Southwick, Willett), criminal, sentencing Affirming 292-month sentence on conviction of wire fraud affecting financial institutions. per curiam (Dennis, Ho, Oldham), criminal Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. per curiam (King, Haynes, Ho), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Stewart, Clement, Wilson), … More August 28, 2025, opinions
