Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting, sec. 1983, standing On holding that plaintiff lacked standing, vacating district court’s judgment that plaintiff–incarcerated capital inmate–had shown that a provision of Texas’s DNA testing statute was unconstitutional and that he was entitled to DNA testing, and remanding for dismissal of action for lack … More February 8, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Richman, Jones, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Engelhardt, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ., voting against en banc rehearing; Smith, Elrod, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Oldham, JJ., voting for en banc rehearing); Clement, J., concurring in denial of rehearing en banc (joined by Jones, Stewart, Graves, Higginson, Engelhardt, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez); Ho, J., … More February 5-7, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Southwick, Engelhardt, Wilson), criminal, First Step Act, habeas corpus Affirming denial of sentence reduction under the First Step Act in defendants’ successive § 2255 petition. The Court held that § 403 of the First Step Act was not applicable to reduce the mandatory minimum sentence where the initial sentence had … More February 2, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Southwick), Dennis, J., dissenting; qualified immunity Reversing denial of qualified immunity summary judgment on behalf of officers who attempted to execute a search warrant through a SWAT team, but on the wrong address (though the warrant itself showed the correct address), and remanding with instructions to dismiss. The … More February 1, 2024, opinions
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 January 2024 opinion statistics
Designated for publication Graves, J. (Graves, Higginson, Ho), Ho, J., would affirm (but no dissenting opinion filed); prisoner suit Reversing summary judgment in favor of prisoner officials on basis of failure to exhaust administrative remedies with regard to Texas state prisoner’s § 1983 suit alleging that prison officials failed to prevent his assault by another … More January 31, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (King, Willett, Douglas), bankruptcy Affirming bankruptcy court judgment dismissing affirmative defense based on pre-bankruptcy indemnity agreement, which had been asserted by defendant to bankruptcy liquidation trustee’s suit arising from misstatements made by defendant charged with helping raise funds for construction of debtor’s facility, on basis that the affirmative defense was barred … More January 30, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Jones, Stewart, Duncan), personal jurisdiction, international arbitration, maritime law Reversing district court’s confirmation of international arbitration award of $200 million arising from explosion of chemical tanks aboard plaintiff’s chartered vessel, holding that the loading of the chemical tanks on the vessel in the Port of New Orleans was insufficient to … More January 29, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (King, Willett, Douglas), Lanham Act, trademark infringement The Court affirmed a finding of infringement of Rolex’s trademarks by an aftermarket modifier of vintage Rolex watches. The Court found that the defendant’s aftermarket modifications were so extensive that it would be a “misnomer” to attach the Rolex marks, and that it … More January 26, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Graves, J. (Graves, Higginson, Ho), habeas corpus, ineffective assistance of counsel Reversing denial of § 2255 petition that asserted ineffective assistance of counsel on basis of trial attorney’s failure to consult with defendant regarding filing of appeal, and remanding for further proceedings. The Court held that it was unreasonable for his trial … More January 24-25, 2024, opinions
