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 … More September 2025 opinion statistics
Designated for publication en banc (vote to grant en banc reh’g); Ho, J., concurring in grant of rehearing en banc; Higginson, J., dissenting from grant of rehearing en banc; en banc, immigration, due process, Alien Enemies Act, habeas corpus On September 2, the three-judge panel (Southwick, J., writing for the court; Ramirez, J., dissenting in … More September 30, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, J. (Richman, Haynes, Graves), prisoner suit, qualified immunity Reversing denial of qualified immunity to prison official defendants on inmate’s claims that prison official defendants unlawfully confiscated his earnings from sale of leather belts at Angola Prison Rodeo and deprived him of due process. Gregory Savage, an inmate at Angola Prison, sued … More September 29, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (King, Haynes, Ho), civil Affirming dismissal of plaintiff’s pro se civil complaint, with no description of claims or appeal issue involved. per curiam (Jones, Duncan, Douglas), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam … More September 24-26, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt), takings Affirming dismissal of plaintiff’s inverse condemnation claim against City, dismissal of Declaratory Judgment Act claim, and remand of breach of contract and other claims to state court. The plaintiffs, a group of developers, contracted with the City of Mesquite to carry out public improvement projects, including … More September 23, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Smith, Higginson, Douglas), Smith, J., dissenting; Clean Air Act, administrative law Denying petition for review of EPA final rule rejecting Texas’s Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan under the “Good Neighbor” rule. The Fifth Circuit denied Texas’s petition challenging EPA’s 2016 disapproval of Texas’s “Good Neighbor” SIP for the 2008 … More September 22, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Graves, J. (Elrod, Graves, Higginson), sec. 1983, death penalty Affirming dismissal of Texas capital inmate’s sec. 1983 claim that Texas’s post-conviction relief procedures are unconstitutional, and denying motions for a stay of execution and for leave to file a successive habeas petition. Blaine Keith Milam was convicted in Texas of murdering his … More September 19, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Smith), qualified immunity On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal and disabling of the Fifth Circuit’s “moment-of-threat” rule for analyzing a deadly force case, again affirming–this time under a reasonableness framework–the district court’s qualified immunity dismissal of a suit against a police officer who used deadly force … More September 18, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham), criminal, sentencing Affirming sentence on revocation of supervised release. per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Wilson), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham), employment discrimination Affirming dismissal of plaintiff’s … More September 17, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Dennis, Graves, Duncan), Dennis, J., dissenting; criminal, pretrial detention, immigration Affirming denial of motion for pretrial detention. The majority affirmed the district court’s denial of Celia Ignacia Esquivel-Bataz’s motion for pretrial release, rejecting her argument that the district court improperly relied on an immigration detainer to find her a flight … More September 16, 2025, opinions
