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 November 2025 statistics are based on 171 total opinions released by the Court (33 fewer than in the previous month):
Where the appeals are coming from
- In November 2025, the Middle District of Louisiana and the Northern District of Mississippi logged perfect affirmance rates, with only affirmances or appeal-dismissals on opinions originating in those districts (7 from the M.D. La., and 2 from the N.D. Miss., so the perfect affirmance rate perhaps as much a product of the small sample size as any other factor). Also, the Board of Immigration Appeals came out spotless in the Fifth in November, with all 14 of the petitions for review of BIA decisions being either denied or dismissed.
- The Western District of Texas was the district with the most decisions originating from there in November, 43 total decisions. From the district, 41 of those were full affirmances or appeal dismissals; 1 was a partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; and 1 was a full vacatur.
- From the Northern District of Texas, 35 decisions were full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 was a partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; and 2 were full vacaturs.
- From decisions from the Southern District of Texas there were 31 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 1 full reversal; and 2 full vacaturs.
- From the Eastern District of Texas there were 5 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 full reversal; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Eastern District of Louisiana there were 8 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; and 2 full reversals.
- From the Western District of Louisiana there were 9 full affirmance/appeal dismissals; and 1 full vacatur.
- From the Southern District of Mississippi, there were 10 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full reversal; and 1 certification to the state supreme court.
What the appeals are about, and who they benefit
- The largest number of appeals were of criminal conviction and/or sentencing issues. 84 resulted in full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 full reversal; and 3 full vacaturs. 84 of the dispositions favored the prosecution, and 4 favored the defendant.
- In immigration cases, there was 1 full affirmance; 14 dismissals/denials of petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeals orders; and 1 denial of a motion to stay deportation. All 16 dispositions favored the government.
- In prisoner suits, there were 6 full affirmances/appeal dismissals. 5 dispositions favored the government defendants, and 1 favored the plaintiff.
- In commercial – civil cases, there were 14 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 1 partial affirmance/partial reversal/vacatur; 1 full reversal; 1 full vacatur; and 1 certification to a state supreme court. 13 of the dispositions favored the defendant, and 5 favored the plaintiff.
- In civil rights/constitutional claims (non-prisoner-suits), there were 23 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 1 full vacatur. 21 of the dispositions favored the defendant; and 5 favored the plaintiff.
- In employment/labor law cases, there were 8 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; and 2 full vacaturs. 8 of the dispositions favored an employer; and 4 favored the employee.
- In qualified immunity cases, there was 2 full affirmances. Both dispositions favored the government defendant.
- In personal injury/non-commercial tort cases, there were 4 full affirmances/appeal dismissals. All 4 dispositions favored the defendant.
- In administrative law cases, there were 4 full affirmances. All 4 dispositions favored the defendant/agency.
- In social security cases, there was 1 full affirmance. That 1 disposition favored the government.
- In bankruptcy cases, there was 1 full affirmance; and 2 full reversals. 2 dispositions favored a creditor; and 1 favored the debtor.
- In maritime law cases, there was 1 full reversal. That 1 disposition favored the plaintiff.
Importance of oral argument?
- In November 2025, there were 26 decisions resulting from orally argued cases: 14 were fully affirmed; 3 were only partially affirmed, but partially reversed or vacated; 4 were fully reversed; 4 were fully vacated; and 1 resulted in a certification to a state supreme court. So, decisions in November from the orally argued cases resulted in only a 53.8% full-affirmance rate. 13 of the November decisions from orally argued cases favored the defendant; while 13 favored the plaintiff.
- In the 15 November decisions where oral argument was withdrawn after initially being granted, 9 resulted in full affirmances; 1 was only partially affirmed; 3 were fully reversed; and 2 resulted in denials of petitions for review of Board of Immigration Appeal decisions; for a 73.3% full-affirmance rate for cases initially ordered for oral argument but then not orally argued. 11 of those oral-argument-withdrawn decisions favored the defendant; while 4 favored the plaintiff.
- In the 140 November decisions that were never ordered for oral argument, 125 were full affirmances; 1 was only partially affirmed; 1 was fully reversed; 12 were denials of petitions for review of BIA orders; and 1 was a denial of a motion to stay deportation, for a 98.6% full-affirmance rate. 137 of the no-oral-argument decisions favored the defendant; and 3 favored the plaintiff.
How much law is being made?
- Of the 171 opinions released by the 5th Circuit in November 2025, 33 were designated for publication. 17 of those were full affirmances; 3 were partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 4 were full reversals; 3 were full vacaturs; 1 was a certification to a state supreme court; 4 were denials of petitions for review of BIA orders; and 1 was a denial of a motion to stay deportation.
- 148 of the November opinions were unpublished, including 131 full affirmances/appeal dismissals; 2 partial affirmances/partial reversals/vacaturs; 1 full reversal; 4 full vacaturs; and 10 denials/dismissals of petitions to review BIA orders.
Who was doing what on the Court?
Who was the busiest, in that they were on the most panels issuing opinions in November? (Judge Willett). Who was the busiest writer, authoring the most attributed opinions (including majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions)? (Judge Dennis). Who concurred the most in separate opinions? (Judges Willett and Ho, with 1 each). Who authored the most dissenting or dubitante opinions? (Judge Dennis, with 4). How many opinions did the Court issue per curiam, with no author listed? (151, with 146 of those unpublished; but 4 of the designated “per curiam” decisions were not “true” per curia for the court, as they were accompanied by separate concurrences and/or dissents). Who participated in making the most law, participating in the most panels with published opinions? (Judges Smith and Engelhardt). 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 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Jones | 26 | 26 | 1 | 3 | 23 | ||
| Smith | 21 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 14 | |
| Stewart | 28 | 28 | 3 | 25 | |||
| Richman | 21 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 16 | ||
| Southwick | 19 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 15 | ||
| Haynes | 27 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 22 | |
| Graves | 25 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 | |
| Higginson | 13 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | |
| Willett | 37 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 32 | |
| Ho | 31 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 25 | |
| Duncan | 26 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 22 | ||
| Engelhardt | 30 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 23 | |
| Oldham | 29 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 24 | |
| Wilson | 32 | 32 | 3 | 29 | |||
| Douglas | 26 | 26 | 5 | 21 | |||
| Ramirez | 29 | 29 | 2 | 5 | 24 | ||
| Dist. Ct. Judge sitting by designation | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| King | 20 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 19 | ||
| Higginbotham | 17 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 13 | ||
| Davis | 15 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 13 | ||
| Wiener | 18 | 18 | 3 | 15 | |||
| Barksdale | 15 | 15 | 2 | 13 | |||
| Dennis | 18 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | |
| Clement | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Unattributed/ Clerk | |||||||
| per curiam | 151 | 5 | 146 |
Conclusions? Most decisions in November, as always, were unanimous, with 12 dissents and 3 concurrences out of 171 opinions. Among senior-status judges, Judge King had the heaviest participation in panels, while Judges Higginbotham, Davis, Wiener, Barksdale, and Dennis all had as much as some of the active-status judges. Meanwhile, among active-status judges, the lightest production in November was from Judge Higginson (and Chief Judge Elrod, though often the administrative duties of Chief can act as a drag on opinion numbers).
Wrap it all together, and an opinion in November 2025 was most likely to be an unpublished per curiam affirming a criminal decision from the Western District of Texas, with Judges Willett, Ho, and Engelhardt on the panel.
Take the Fifth 