Designated for publication U.S. v. Navarro-Jusino, 20-40401, appeal from E.D. Tex. Smith, J. (King, Smith, Haynes), criminal, sentencing Affirming 120-month sentence on one count of wire fraud, an 87-month upward variance from the guidelines. The Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in the sentencing because (1) the wire fraud of … More Take the Fifth: April 5, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Knowlton, 19-41042, appeal from E.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Elrod, Willett, Engelhardt), criminal Affirming conviction for receiving material containing child pornography. The Court held that the flash drives, external hard drives, and computer hard drives were “materials containing” child pornography and not merely child pornography itself, rejecting defendant’s argument that he … More Take the Fifth: April 1-2, 2021 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 a year we will aggregate that–all of which provides useful insights into the inner workings of the Court, the relative success of … More Take the Fifth: March 2021 statistics
Designated for publication U.S. v. Burney, 20-10529, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (King, Smith, Haynes), criminal, sentencing Affirming 60-month sentence on guilty plea to wire fraud. The presentence report recommended a guideline range of 12-18 months, “[b]ased on the severity of the offense, Burney’s acceptance of responsibility, and his criminal history,” but the district … More Take the Fifth: March 29-31, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Douglas v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 18-11567, appeal from N.D. Tex. Owen, C.J. (Owen, Haynes, Costa), Haynes, J., dissenting in part; foreclosure, breach of contract Affirming dismissal of borrowers’ claims arising from foreclosure on home by mortgagor. The Court first held that the borrowers’ protestation that they never received the notice of … More Take the Fifth: March 26, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication National Parks Conservation Association v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 17-60828, petition for review of EPA Rules per curiam (Davis, Stewart, Dennis), administrative law, environmental law, venue Denying motion to reconsider denial of motion by power company intervenors to confirm venue of review action in the Fifth Circuit rather than transfer venue of … More Take the Fifth: March 24 & 25, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Brune, 19-11360, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Jones, Smith, Elrod), criminal, double jeopardy Affirming conviction of defendant for possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. In the charging instrument, the government had misstated the statutory citation for the charged crime, … More Take the Fifth: March 22 and 23, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Kieffer, 19-30225, appeal from E.D. La. Haynes, J. (Haynes, Higginson, Oldham), Oldham, J., concurring; criminal, sufficiency of evidence, juror questioning, crime of violence Affirming convictions of father-and-son co-defendants on charges arising from armed robberies of armored trucks, including convictions for conspiracy to commit bank robbery, armed bank robbery, brandishing a … More Take the Fifth: March 19, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Franco v. Mabe Trucking Co., 19-30316, appeal from W.D. La. Dennis, J. (King, Jones, Dennis), Jones, J., dissenting; negligence, timeliness, transfer of venue Reversing summary judgment in favor of defendant in car-wreck case on grounds of timeliness/prescription, and remanding for further proceedings. This suit arose from a wreck that happened in Louisiana … More Take the Fifth: March 18, 2021 opinions
Unpublished Serrano v. Crawford-McClure, 19-50856, appeal from W.D. Tex. per curiam (Clement, Higginson, Engelhardt), prisoner suit Affirming district court’s dismissal of prisoner’s § 1983 claim relating to collateral attack on conviction, for failure to state a cognizable § 1983 claim. Grayer v. Couey, 19-60685, appeal from S.D. Miss. per curiam (Clement, Higginson, Engelhardt), prisoner suit, … More Take the Fifth: March 17, 2021 opinions
Take the Fifth 