Designated for publication Ho, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho), election law Reversing district court judgment that Texas election law requiring an ID number on the mail-in ballot application and on the mail-in ballot violated federal law, and rendering judgment for Texas official defendants. The Fifth Circuit upheld Texas’s Election Protection and Integrity Act of 2021, which … More August 4, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho), Ho, J., dissenting; judicial immunity, sec. 1983, appellate jurisdiction Reversing denial of judicial immunity for defendants on claims arising from prevailing over jury proceedings, and dismissing plaintiffs’ appeal from grant of judicial immunity over other sec. 1983 claims as that ruling was at the interlocutory stage. Loving … More August 1, 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 July 2025 opinion statistics
Unpublished opinions per curiam (Graves, Ho, Douglas), prisoner suit Dismissing as frivolous appeal from denial of petition for mandamus to compel ICE to turn over certain materials from arrest. per curiam (Stewart, Dennis, Haynes), maritime law Affirming district court’s judgment as to damages for certain vessels arising from mooring insufficiencies during Hurricane Ida, but reversing … More July 31, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (en banc), habeas corpus, Brady violation, en banc Ordering en banc rehearing of now-vacated March 7, 2025, panel opinion (Higginbotham, J., joined by Higginson, J.; Duncan, J., dissenting) reversing district court’s denial of habeas petition based on prosecution’s failure to disclose witness’s status as confidential informant). Unpublished decisions per curiam … More July 30, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Engelhardt, Guidry, by designation), First Amendment, standing, qualified immunity Reversing dismissal of plaintiff’s First Amendment pre-enforcement challenge to Texas Election Code for lack of standing; affirming dismissal of claims against defendants in individual capacities as barred by qualified immunity; and remanding for further proceedings. The Institute for Free Speech … More July 28-29, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Jones, Duncan, Douglas), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Jones, Duncan, Douglas), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Oldham), criminal Affirming conviction of possession of a stolen firearm. per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Oldham), criminal, new trial Affirming denial of … More July 25, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Hendrix, J. (Jones, Oldham, Hendrix, by designation), takings, trespass Affirming district court’s judgment that property owner was not entitled as part of just compensation for land taken by government for border wall the value of the portion of the wall built outside the easement previously obtained by the government. Mary Bennett owns … More July 24, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, J. (Richman, Willett, Douglas), Douglas, J., dissenting in part; criminal, due process, immigration Affirming conviction of illegal reentry. Ismael Adan Ortiz-Rodriguez was removed from the United States in 2017 following expedited removal proceedings initiated by DHS. In 2023, he was convicted of illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Before trial, … More July 23, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Stewart, Clement, Willett), criminal, sentencing Withdrawing prior opinion after petition for rehearing, and substituting new opinion affirming sentence of defendant on issue of intervening amendment to Sentencing Guidelines. Darrell Wickware, previously convicted of robbery under Texas law, was charged in 2021 with unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted … More July 22, 2025, opinions
