Category: Opinion Summaries

Take the Fifth: Nov. 19 and 20, 2020 opinions

November 23, 2020

Designated for publication Joseph v. Bartlett, 19-30014, appeal from E.D. La. Willett, J. (Elrod, Willett, Oldham), Oldham, J., concurring; excessive force, qualified immunity Affirming district court’s denial of qualified immunity-based summary judgment in favor of two defendant officers who repeatedly tased and struck a young man (who subsequently died), reversing the district court’s qualified immunity … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 19 and 20, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 18, 2020 opinions

November 19, 2020

Unpublished Velazquez v. U.S., 19-10138, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Barksdale, Elrod, Ho), Federal Tort Claims Act, prisoner suit, jurisdiction Affirming 12(b)(1) dismissal of federal prisoner’s FTCA claim for injuries received responding to a fellow inmate’s calls for assistance, as the Inmate Accident Compensation Act provided the exclusive remedy. Jones v. Lubbock County Hospital … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 18, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 16, 2020 opinions

November 17, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. McKinney, 19-50801, appel from W.D. Tex. Southwick, J. (Owen, Davis, Southwick), criminal, search and seizure Vacating conviction and sentence based on conditional guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that district court erred in denying motion to suppress evidence of discovery of firearm by an … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 16, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

November 16, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Batiste, 19-30927, appeal from E.D. La. Engelhardt, J., (Graves, Costa, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing, First Step Act Affirming in part sentence of imprisonment and denial of sentence-reduction under the First Step Act, but remanding in part the portion of the sentence regarding the term of supervised release for the district court … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 12, 2020 opinions

November 13, 2020

Designated for publication Richardson v. Hughs, 20-50774, appeal from W.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Oldham), intervention, election law Denying motion to intervene on appeal, by plaintiff in similar but separate case. This motion arises from two lawsuits challenging Texas’s signature-verification scheme for absentee ballots. Noting that, “[p]erhaps because there is no rule explicitly allowing … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 12, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 11, 2020 opinions

November 12, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Beaudion, 19-30635, appeal from W.D. La. Oldham, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), criminal, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act Affirming conviction of defendant for drug offenses, upholding district court’s denial of motion to suppress evidence gained through government’s surveillance of the GPS coordinates on his girlfriend’s (and drug-dealing partner’s) … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 11, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 9 and 10, 2020 opinions

November 11, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Cooper, 19-50119, appeal from W.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Elrod, Duncan, Wilson), criminal, guilty plea Affirming conviction on use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, where defendant had pled guilty, finding sufficient factual bases to support plea; but remanding to correct that plea was to … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 9 and 10, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 2-6, 2020 opinions

November 9, 2020

Designated for publication Pizza Inn, Inc. v. Clairday, 19-11302, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), breach of contract, equitable intervention doctrine Reversing district court’s upholding of jury verdict in favor of franchisee, applying equitable intervention doctrine and awarding damages and attorneys’ fees to franchisee for pizza franchise’s refusal to renew contract when … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 2-6, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 30, 2020 opinions

October 31, 2020

Designated for publication Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, 17-51060, appeal from W.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Jones, Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Graves, Haynes, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Ho, Engelhardt, Wilson); abortion law After the October 13 release of the panel opinion affirming the district court’s injunction of enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8 (requiring that “a … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 30, 2020 opinions