As of yesterday, February 23, 2026, Judge James L. Dennis, who took senior status in December 2022, has taken full inactive senior status. Judge Dennis has long been a giant in the law. Judge Dennis was born in January 1936, in Monroe, LA. After serving in the United States Army from 1955-1957, he attended Louisiana … More Judge James L. Dennis takes inactive status
Even with one of the en banc arguments canceled and the appeal dismissed for mootness, this was still an en banc sitting for the Fifth Circuit record books. Seven cases heard in six en banc arguments (the two 10 Commandments cases having been consolidated for oral argument only), and on a holiday-shortened week, at that. … More All the January Fifth Circuit En Banc Observations
While observing en banc oral arguments today at the Fifth Circuit, it was hard not to have the driving riff of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” on repeat in my head, because today was definitely immigration day. It also was a day of driving riffs, because three out of the four advocates today were the best … More En banc observations: U.S. v. Texas and W.M.M. v. Trump (immigration day)
Continuing with trying something new here, recording observations from the questions asked at the January en banc sitting. And, contrary to my protest otherwise yesterday, I am giving in to the temptation to try some predictions hunches on the decisions the arguments might lead to, based on the questions and on the judges’ prior inclinations … More En banc observations: Holberg (habeas/Brady) and Airlines for America (airline-fee rulemaking); also, adding some hunches
Trying something new here at Take the Fifth, sitting in to observe en banc arguments and provide quick-take observations. Reading the tea-leaves of an argument to predict outcomes is rarely a fruitful exercise even with a three-judge panel, certainly not with a 17-judge en banc panel; but the judges’ questions nevertheless are fertile ground for … More En banc argument observations: Roake and Nathan (10 Commandments)
One of the eight cases getting en banc treatment this week, Spectrum WT v. Wendler, 23-10994, currently set for the Friday morning argument on January 23, may be going by the wayside. This morning, the plaintiff-appellant, Spectrum WT, filed a motion to dismiss its appeal as moot (Spectrum prevailed at the panel stage, though that … More One en banc case to drop from calendar?
A very busy en banc calendar for the Fifth Circuit in January 2026, with eight cases being heard on January 20-23. Below I’ll re-run my summaries of the original panel opinions in the cases, so everyone can see the dynamics running in the case between majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions (most of these featured contrasting … More January 2026 en banc previews
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 December 2025 opinion statistics
Pardon the ambiguity in the headline, there–the CLE seminar was what was “interesting,” not necessarily my thoughts about the seminar, but this CLE seminar was quite thought-provoking. Today was the LSBA’s annual Advanced Appellate Practice Seminar; as always, seminar chairs Thomas Flanagan and Rick Stanley did an excellent job putting together dynamic panels. And, as … More Interesting CLE seminar thoughts
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 November 2025 opinion statistics
Take the Fifth 