We provide detailed summaries of all U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinions that are designated for publication; disposition and panel details for all unpublished decisions; a monthly tabulation of opinion statistics from the Fifth Circuit; and occasional additional analysis of opinions and Court dynamics.
November 6, 2026, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Barksdale, Graves, Higginson) (no oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction on drug charges. Following a jury conviction on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1)) and four counts of possession with intent to distribute, Asberry raised three…
November 2-5, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Engelhardt, Guidry, by designation) (oral argument), Engelhardt, J., dissenting in part; trademark infringement, Lanham Act Vacating judgment for defendant on Lanham Act and trademark claims, affirming on evidentiary and discovery rulings, and remanding for further proceedings on likelihood of confusion finding. Casa Tradición sells luxury tequila under its registered…
October 2026 opinion statistics
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…
October 30, 2026, decisions
Designated for publication Ho, J. (Stewart, Higginson, Ho) (no oral argument), removal, diversity jurisdiction, personal tort Vacating remand order in case removed on basis of diversity jurisdiction, and remanding to federal district court for further proceedings. Rubidia De Chavez and other plaintiffs brought a state-law tort suit following the death of her husband against several…
October 29, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Smith, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal, appeal waiver On remand from U.S. Supreme Court, dismissing appeal of conviction and sentence on basis of appeal waiver in plea agreement. Rashon Harris pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and received a 240-month…
October 28, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication en banc (oral argument at panel stage); en banc, standing, preemption, First Amendment Granting en banc rehearing of July 24, 2026, panel opinion (Higginbotham, Ho, Douglas; Ho, J., dissenting in part) that had affirmed preliminary injunction of Texas social media regulation statute as to monitoring and filtering requirements as preempted by federal…
October 27, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, J. (Richman, Oldham, Ramirez) (oral argument withdrawn), Oldham, J., dissenting; maritime law, expert witness, toxic tort Affirming summary judgment for defendant in maritime toxic tort arising from Deepwater Horizon disaster. Richard DuFour, Jr. worked nearly three years as a cleanup worker following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Pascagoula, Mississippi,…
October 26, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Haynes, Enhelhardt) (oral argument), timeliness, Americans with Disabilities Act Reversing dismissal of ADA claim as time-barred, holding that claim was tolled under American Pipe. James Bien worked for Union Pacific as a locomotive train conductor. After failing two color vision tests in 2013, he was removed from his conductor…
October 23, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Haynes, Higginson, Ho) (oral argument), standing, breach of contract, Federal Wiretap Act Reversing dismissal of suit based on use of Meta “Pixel” on defendant’s website, on standing grounds, and remanding. Eyemart Express operates retail stores and a website where customers browse products, purchase prescription eyewear, and schedule eye exams. Eyemart…
October 22, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Southwick, Higginson, Douglas) (oral argument), Freedom of Information Act, administrative law Reversing in part summary judgment for FEMA on plaintiff organization’s FOIA challenge, reversing dismissal of case with prejudice, finding that additional record development was required to determine equitable relief, and remanding for further development of the record. La Unión…
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