Take the Fifth

Designated for publication

• U.S. v. Lewis, 24-20235, appeal from S.D. Tex.
  • King, J. (King, Smith, Douglas) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Brady violation, witness testimony
  • Affirming conviction of sex trafficking.
  • The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and 480-month sentence of Larry Odell Lewis for sex trafficking and coercion-and-enticement offenses involving four women he controlled as prostitutes between 2014 and 2017. The court recounted extensive testimony showing that Lewis recruited vulnerable women—often homeless, addicted, or previously trafficked—then managed every aspect of their commercial sex work. The women described how Lewis booked hotel rooms, controlled access to money, food, and drugs, confiscated identification, and beat them when they resisted or failed to “work.” They also testified that he transported them between Louisiana and Texas for prostitution. Despite minor inconsistencies, the Fifth Circuit found the victims’ accounts consistent, corroborated, and sufficient to support all convictions except one count already dismissed by the jury.
  • Lewis’s primary appellate challenge centered on deleted text messages between a state investigator and one victim. He argued that the government’s failure to preserve or produce these communications violated Brady and the Jencks Act by depriving him of potentially exculpatory impeachment evidence. The Fifth Circuit rejected these claims, holding that the defense had ample opportunity to cross-examine both the investigator and the victim about the deleted messages and related gifts or assistance. Any missing texts were cumulative of other impeachment evidence, and the victims’ accounts were mutually corroborative. Even assuming favorable content, there was no reasonable probability of a different result—rendering any Brady or Jencks violation harmless.
  • Lewis also contended that the district court wrongly admitted improper or prejudicial testimony, claiming investigators impermissibly vouched for the victims’ credibility and equated “pimps” with “traffickers.” The appellate court disagreed. It found no “express statement” of belief in the victims’ truthfulness and held that the investigators’ descriptions of interviews and corroboration methods were permissible context rather than bolstering. Similarly, an investigator’s reference to “pimps or traffickers” reflected her professional terminology, not a legal conclusion usurping the jury’s role. Even assuming minor errors—such as a prosecutor’s remark that a cooperating witness had “put bad guys in jail”—the court deemed them isolated, mitigated by curative instructions, and overwhelmed by the strength of the evidence.
  • The panel next upheld the admission of Instagram evidence linking Lewis to an account under the handle “larrylavish.” Testimony from an investigator and one victim, who had seen Lewis use that handle and appear in selfies on the account, adequately authenticated the posts. Although two memes glorifying pimping were not “intrinsic” to the charged conduct, their admission was proper under Rule 404(b): they were relevant to Lewis’s intent and knowledge, closely contemporaneous with the trafficking period, and not unduly prejudicial under Rule 403. The posts tended to show his knowing participation in and attitude toward controlling women for commercial sex.
  • In affirming, the Fifth Circuit concluded that the evidence overwhelmingly established coercion and force within the statutory definitions. The victims’ prior prostitution history did not negate coercion, since Lewis’s violence, manipulation, and control deprived them of meaningful choice. The panel emphasized that § 1591’s definitions encompass not only physical abuse but also psychological, financial, and drug-related coercion—patterns all present here. Finding no reversible evidentiary or procedural error and no violation of Lewis’s constitutional or statutory rights, the court affirmed the convictions and sentence in full.

Unpublished decisions

• U.S. v. Lee, 25-10252, c/w 25-10254, appeal from N.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Haynes, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing
  • Affirming conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon.

• U.S. v. Gerhart, 25-10450, appeal from N.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• U.S. v. White, 25-10625, appeal from N.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• U.S. v. Scott, 25-30058, appeal from W.D. La.
  • per curiam (Barksdale, Oldham, Douglas) (no oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence
  • Affirming conviction of possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

• Kapordelis v. Martinez, 25-30218, appeal from W.D. La.
  • per curiam (Barksdale, Graves, Duncan) (no oral argument), habeas corpus
  • Affirming dismissal of sec. 2241 petition for lack of jurisdiction.

• U.S. v. Bello, 25-40073, appeal from E.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Southwick, Duncan, Engelhardt) (no oral argument), criminal, pretrial detention, search and seizure
  • Dismissing appeal of various pretrial and interlocutory orders.

• U.S. v. Derr, 25-40158, appeal from E.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• U.S. v. Mireles-Morales, 25-40228, appeal from S.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• Torres v. Rubio, 24-40685, appeal from S.D. Tex.
  • Clement, J. (Elrod, Clement, Haynes) (oral argument), immigration
  • Affirming district court’s judgment against plaintiff on declaratory judgment action seeking declaration that he was a U.S. citizen by birth, holding that the district court’s finding that the plaintiff had not proven he was born in the United States was not clearly erroneous.

• U.S. v. Gutierrez, 24-40818, appeal from S.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Barksdale, Oldham, Douglas) (no oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence
  • Affirming conviction of assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with a correctional officer.

• U.S. v. Rodriguez-Castaneda, 25-50209, appeal from W.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.

• U.S. v. Magana-Medrano, 24-50716, appeal from W.D. Tex.
  • per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing
  • Affirming 92-month sentence on conviction of illegal reentry.

• Segura-Flores v. Bondi, 25-60135, petition for review of BIA order
  • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), immigration
  • Denying Honduran citizens’ petition for review of BIA order denying Martinez-Andino’s motion to sever and terminate her removal proceedings and dismissing the petitioners’ appeal of an order of the immigration judge (IJ) denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture.

• Peralta v. Bondi, 25-60214, petition for review of BIA order
  • per curiam (Stewart, Haynes, Ho) (no oral argument), immigration
  • Denying Salvadoran citizen’s petition for review of BIA order upholding the immigration judge’s denial of his motion to reopen.

• Sims Agency, L.L.C. v. GEICO, 25-60226, appeal from S.D. Miss.
  • per curiam (Davis, Jones, Ho) (no oral argument), breach of contract
  • Affirming summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff insurance agent’s claim of entitlement to renewal commissions generated after his contract with his principal terminated.

• U.S. v. Parker, 24-60606, appeal from S.D. Miss.
  • per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal
  • Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon.