Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, search and seizure, sentencing Affirming conviction and 16-month sentence for smuggling bulk cash, and upholding denial of motion to suppress evidence obtained from a border search while defendant attempted enter Mexico from the United States. After being pulled over at the border, officers noticed the defendant … More December 9, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Dennis, Elrod, Ho), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act Affirming 180-month sentence on guilty plea conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, upholding the application of the ACCA and rejecting arguments that prior Mississippi burglary convictions were not crimes of violence for ACCA purposes and that convictions … More December 5, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Clement, Duncan, Wilson), prisoner suit, First Amendment Affirming summary judgment dismissal of Texas state prisoner’s § 1983 claims that confiscation of religious materials violated his First Amendment rights. The Court held that TDJC policies regarding storage of personal property and the confiscation of any personal property not stored properly according … More October 4-5, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, Armed Career Criminal Act Vacating sentence on conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and remanding for resentencing, disagreeing with the district court that the ACCA (which would increase the statutory maximum from ten years to a minimum of 15 years) was … More September 26-28, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication King, J. (King, Elrod, Southwick), Elrod, J., concurring in judgment; tax, Freedom of Information Act, attorneys’ fees Affirming dismissal of claims challenging tax penalties, revocation of passport pursuant to penalties, and denial of award of attorneys’ fees under FOIA. The Court held that the district court correctly dismissed the plaintiff’s claims challenging … More September 15, 2022, opinions
(Still in catch-up mode here, so the opinions designated for publication will get the same brief treatment as the unpublished opinions …) Designated for publication Whole Woman’s Health v. Young, 18-50730, appeal from W.D. Tex. per curiam (Barksdale, Stewart, Costa), abortion law Vacating injunction of Texas law regarding disposal of embryonic and fetal tissue after … More June 20-28, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Rodriguez v. Garland, 20-60008, petition for review of BIA order per curiam (Higginbotham, Willett, Duncan); Duncan, J., concurring (joined by Higginbotham, Southwick, Higginson, Willett, JJ.); Elrod, J., dissenting (joined by Jones, Smith, Wilson, JJ.); Ho, J., dissenting; immigration Denying petition for panel rehearing and for en banc rehearing, with eight judges voting … More April 19, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Foster v. Warden, 20-10841, appeal from N.D. Tex. Southwick, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Wilson), mootness Vacating dismissal on mootness grounds of former military prisoner’s suit regarding the constitutionality of term of supervised release he had been found to have violated, and remanding to district court for determination of whether post-imprisonment effect on eligibility … More April 13-14, 2022, opinions
(Note: While normally Take the Fifth provides more detailed summaries for opinions designated for publication and only basic disposition notes and links for unpublished opinions, because this is a catch-up post after two weeks of being away from the blog, we are just providing the links and basic disposition notes for both published and unpublished … More March 19-31, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Castro, 18-10137, appeal from N.D. Tex. Oldham, J. (Ho, Oldham, Wilson), habeas corpus Denying petition for rehearing, but withdrawing prior panel opinion and substituting new opinion that vacates Certificate of Appealability and dismisses appeal from denial of § 2255 petition. The Court held that it had the power to vacate … More March 14-18, 2022, opinions
