I am special counsel at Fishman Haygood LLP, focusing on appeals in all matters, as well as litigation in environmental land-damage, coastal land-loss, and complex commercial matters. I am also a writer, and I'm the managing editor of literary journal The Peauxdunque Review.
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Southwick, Duncan, Engelhardt) (no oral argument), abortion law, standing, administrative law Granting Louisiana’s motion to stay the FDA’s 2023 REMS (order allowing mifepristone to be prescribed online and dispensed through the mail without any in-person doctor visit) pending appeal under 5 U.S.C. § 705. After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health … More May 1, 2026, opinions
I report after each month on interesting statistics from the data I 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.) I aggregate that–all of which provides useful insights into the inner workings of the Court, the relative success … More April 2026 opinion statistics
Designated for publication U.S. v. Wilson, 24-10633, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Jones, Smith, Graves, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, voting for en banc rehearing; Elrod, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Higginson, Willett, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, voting against en banc rehearing) (oral argument at panel stage); Willett, J., issuing opinion “respecting the denial” (joined by Elrod, … More April 30, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Willett, Duncan, Wilson) (oral argument), qui tam, False Claims Act Affirming dismissal of False Claims Act qui tam suit. Jack Palmer, hired by Comcast in 2016 to audit Tata Consulting Services’ immigration practices, filed a qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA). Tata employs roughly 30,000 workers in … More April 29, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (en banc) (oral argument at panel stage); en banc, arbitration, ERISA Granting en banc rehearing of December 18, 2025, panel opinion (Higginbotham, Jones, Southwick; Jones, J., dissenting in part), that had affirmed that the threshold question of arbitrability belonged to the court because the master services agreement between the parties … More April 28, 2026, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Wiener, Willett, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Smith, Graves, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Clement, Richman, Willett) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam … More April 27, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (joined by Elrod, Jones, Haynes, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson) (oral argument); Ho, J., concurring; Oldham, J., concurring (joined by Elrod, Jones, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt); Richman, J., dissenting (joined by Stewart, Southwick, Higginson, Ramirez, and joined by Graves and Douglas as to part II on standing); Graves, J., … More April 24, 2026, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Jones, Richman, Ramirez) (no oral argument), sec. 1983 Dismissing as frivolous appeal from dismissal of pro se sec. 1983 claim alleging that Mississippi Valley State University violated plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy when it requested a copy of her academic transcript from Parchment, LLC. The court found that Young failed … More April 23, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Graves, Ho) (oral argument), First Amendment, sec. 1983 Affirming dismissal of sec. 1983 claims arising from court’s limits on release of bail bond orders. Scott Martin operates Pronto Direct Mail Marketing, Inc., a company that for decades collected criminal defendants’ contact information from publicly available bail bond orders in … More April 22, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (joined by Elrod, Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson; except Willett, Ho, Oldham do not join as to standing/justiciability); Ho, J., concurring; Oldham, J., concurring (joined by Willett); Ramirez, J., dissenting (joined by Stewart, Richman, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Douglas); Southwick, J., dissenting (joined by Richman, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, Ramirez); … More April 21, 2026, opinions
