Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Ho, Douglas) (no oral argument), Ho, J., concurring; False Claims Act, qui tam Affirming dismissal of qui tam action under False Claims Act. Inpatient-rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) provide intensive therapy to patients after hospital discharge and are reimbursed by Medicare per discharge, contingent on compliance with procedural rules such as … More November 3, 2025, 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 October 2025 opinion statistics
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Clement, Haynes) (oral argument), Haynes, dissenting in part; timeliness, personal torts Affirming dismissal as untimely of claims brought under Texas law, originally in Texas state courts but then removed, for monetary damages arising from chemical explosions at defendant’s facility, where original action was certified as to injunctive relief class … More October 30-31, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Barksdale, Willett, Duncan) (oral argument), election law Affirming denial of preliminary injunction on plaintiff voters’ suit challenging as racially discriminatory a county commission’s redrawing of county precinct lines. The Fifth Circuit began by reaffirming that states and their political subdivisions hold primary constitutional authority to regulate elections, including the drawing … More October 29, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication en banc, First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, ripeness, standing, sovereign immunity, en banc Ordering initial hearing en banc, with the en banc rehearing argument of Roake v. Brumley. Stewart, J. (Jones, Stewart, Ramirez) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in … More October 28, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication en banc; First Amendment, en banc Vacating August 18, 2025, panel opinion (Dennis, Southwick, Ho; Ho, J., dissenting) and ordering en banc rehearing of panel opinion that reversed denial of preliminary injunction against university administration’s cancellation of LGBT+ student organization’s drag show. Unpublished decisions per curiam (Wiener, Willett, Wilson) (no oral argument), … More October 27, 2025, opinions
Published decisions per curiam (Elrod, Jones, Higginson) (no oral argument), Higginson, J., dissenting; criminal, discovery, sealed records Granting unopposed motion for summary reversal of unexplained denial of joint unopposed motion for entry of modified protective order for production of criminal discovery records. Finding: “The dissent raises the concern that a reversal of the District Court’s … More October 23-24, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Jones, Duncan, Douglas) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Clement, Southwick, Oldham) (no oral argument), civil Affirming judgment in favor of defendant, with no description of claims or appeal issues. per curiam (Richman, Willett, Douglas) (oral argument), Willett, J., dissenting in part; vaccine … More October 22, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication King, J. (King, Smith, Douglas) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Brady violation, witness testimony Affirming conviction of sex trafficking. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and 480-month sentence of Larry Odell Lewis for sex trafficking and coercion-and-enticement offenses involving four women he controlled as prostitutes between 2014 and 2017. The court … More October 21, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions Richman, J. (Richman, Haynes, Duncan) (oral argument), insurance Reversing in part and affirming in part dismissal of claims against insurer for a declaration of insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify: reversing the magistrate judge’s dismissal of BPX’s duty-to-defend and duty-to-indemnify claims, vacating and remanding BPX’s declaratory judgment claim, and affirming the magistrate judge’s … More October 20, 2025, opinions
