Take the Fifth: Oct. 21, 2020 opinions

October 22, 2020

Only unpublished decisions to report from yesterday’s releases (with one “revised” published opinion released for U.S. v. Becerra, originally released on October 6). Cannon v. Southern University Board of Supervisors, 19-30803, appeal from M.D. La. per curiam (Haynes, Willett, Ho), due process Affirming district court’s summary judgment dismissing law student’s due process claim against defendant’s … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 21, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Election consequences for our Court of Appeals?

October 21, 2020

As the world anticipates the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to send the nomination of Judge Amy Barrett to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote to the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s worth stopping and taking account of where our local Court of Appeals stands. The public is rightly focused on the implications of Presidential … More Take the Fifth: Election consequences for our Court of Appeals?

Take the Fifth: Oct. 20, 2020 opinions

October 21, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Sila, 17-11212, appeal from N.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Higginbotham, Elrod, Haynes), criminal, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence Affirming two counts of indictment regarding theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft, vacating one count of indictment regarding theft of government funds for insufficiency of evidence, and remanding for resentencing. Defendant had … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 20, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 19, 2020 opinions

October 20, 2020

Designated for publication Richardson v. Hughs, 20-50774, appeal from W.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Oldham), Higginbotham, J., concurring; election law, sovereign immunity Staying, pending appeal, the district court’s injunction of Texas’s procedures regarding mail-in ballot signature verification and voter-notification procedures. Texas’s absentee mail-in balloting procedures–a system that, as confirmed by 5th Circuit’s October 14th … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 19, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 15, 2020 opinions

October 16, 2020

Designated for Publication Taylor v. McDonald, 18-11572, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), prisoner suit, § 1983, qualified immunity Affirming qualified-immunity-based dismissal of prisoner’s § 1983 suit for deprivation of due process by keeping him confined to a psychiatric unit without an involuntary commitment proceeding. Prisoner had initially consented to transfer to … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 15, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 14, 2020 opinions

October 15, 2020

To create a little efficiency for the writers of this blog, Take the Fifth will take a different tack beginning today. We will continue to include full summaries of those opinions designated for publication, but for unpublished opinions will only continue to provide links to the opinions and basic statistical information regarding basic outcome, district … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 14, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 13, 2020 opinions

October 14, 2020

Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, 17-51060, appeal from W.D. Tex., designated for publication Dennis, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Willett), Willett, J., dissenting; abortion law Affirming district court’s judgment permanent injunction against the enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8 (“SB8”) and its requirement that “a woman to undergo an additional and medically unnecessary procedure to cause fetal … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 13, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 12, 2020 opinions

October 13, 2020

Martinez v. Pompeo, 19-41041, appeal from S.D. Tex., designated for publication per curiam (King, Graves, Oldham), immigration, Administrative Procedures Act Affirming dismissal of suit by plaintiffs for issuance of U.S. passport to father, who claimed to be a U.S. citizen, and for issuance of immigrant visas to his wife and step-daughter. Father had conflicting birth … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 12, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 9, 2020 opinions

October 12, 2020

U.S. v. Strother, 19-40361, appeal from E.D. Tex., designated for publication Higginson, J. (Higgonbotham, Jones, Higginson), criminal, sentencing, guilty plea Affirming conviction and sentence. Defendant had pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. Thereafter, his counsel successfully moved to withdraw as counsel, and defendant filed a pro se motion to withdraw his … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 9, 2020 opinions