December 18-20, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication per curiam (en banc) (voting against rehearing: Elrod, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ.; voting for rehearing: Jones, Smith, Richman, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ.); Ho, J., concurring in denial of rehearing; Oldham, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing (joined by Jones, Smith, Richman, Duncan, Engelhardt, Wilson, JJ.) … More December 18-20, 2025, opinions

December 9, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Stewart, Ramirez) (oral argument), Medicaid Vacating summary judgment for plaintiff hospitals in challenge to Department of Health and Human Services regulation “that penalizes hospitals in states that have pursued alternatives to Medicaid expansion,” and remanding for further proceedings. A group of Texas hospitals challenged a 2023 regulation issued by … More December 9, 2025, opinions

October 23-24, 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

October 17, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Stewart, J. (Jones, Stewart, Ramirez) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, testimony, jury instruction Affirming conviction of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and making false entries in bank records. A federal jury convicted Ashton J. Ryan, Jr.—former President/CEO of First NBC Bank and Chair of its Board—of conspiracy to commit … More October 17, 2025, opinions

August 14, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Jones, J. (Elrod, Jones, Stewart), Stewart, J., concurring in judgment only; insurance Reversing judgment in favor of insurer in claim brought by re-insurer, on basis that insurer’s delay in providing notice to re-insurer of claims was objectively unreasonable and material. The Fifth Circuit reversed a district court ruling and held that United … More August 14, 2025, opinions

August 6, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Ho, J. (King, Ho, Ramirez), CARES Act, administrative law Affirming district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claim for forgiveness of CARES Act paycheck protection program loan for which plaintiff had not been eligible to begin with. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created by Congress under the CARES Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided … More August 6, 2025, opinions

August 4, 2025, opinions

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

July 22, 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

June 27, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication King, J. (King, Ho, Ramirez), Ho, J., concurring; qualified immunity Affirming denial of qualified immunity to officer defendant on claims of Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations from the taking of a child from her home during a child welfare investigation. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to … More June 27, 2025, opinions

June 4, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Haynes, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Haynes), criminal, Second Amendment Affirming conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon. In 2019, Texas authorities arrested Betancourt after he allegedly brandished a firearm during a domestic dispute and was later found with multiple firearms, ammunition, and body armor in his home. A federal grand jury … More June 4, 2025, opinions