Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Richman, Oldham, Ramirez, JJ.; Judges Richman and Ramirez did not concur in footnote 5); Fourth Amendment, state-law immunity, state constitutional claims, qualified immunity On claims arising from alleged conspiracy to steal documents from a cloud-based file storage system against various Texas agencies and in official- and individual-capacity against officials of … More May 28, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Higginbotham, Jones, Oldham), criminal, sentencing Denying motion to vacate sentence on conviction for illegal reentry. Luis Sanchez-Zurita was sentenced to 240 months for illegal reentry, with an upward variance based on his serious criminal history, including child molestation, failure to register as a sex offender, DUI with a child, and … More May 2, 2025, opinions
Unpublished opinions per curiam (Stewart, Clement, Willett), criminal, sentence reduction Vacating denial of motion for sentence reduction, and remanding for reconsideration. per curiam (Smith, Graves, Duncan), breach of contract, trade secrets Affirming summary judgment and evidentiary rulings in favor of defendant in breach of contract and trade-secret-misappropriation claims. per curiam (Smith, Stewart, Duncan), criminal Affirming … More April 30, 2025, opinions
First, a return to the daily summaries of U.S. Fifth Circuit opinions; then, an explanation for the six-week pause in the daily summaries and a couple public service announcements: Unpublished opinions per curiam (King, Jones, Oldham), bankruptcy Affirming dismissal of putative creditor’s adversary claim challenging bankruptcy court’s discharge of debtor’s debts. per curiam (Smith, Stewart, … More April 23, 2025, opinions; plus a couple PSAs
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Jones, Stewart), criminal, search and seizure Reversing grant of motion to suppress evidence from a house and vehicle, holding that the good-faith exception applied to overcome the bare-bones nature of the affidavit in support of the search warrant, and remanding for further proceedings. Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Douglas), Equal … More March 3-4, 2025, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Graves, Willett, Wilson), criminal Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. Richman, J. (Stewart, Richman, Haynes), criminal, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction of making a false statement to a bank. per curiam (Smith, Clement, Duncan), employment Affirming summary judgment against plaintiff, upholding ruling that restrictive covenants in Employee Service … More February 27, 2025, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Elrod, Haynes, Duncan), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Jolly, Jones, Willett), Willett, J., concurring in judgment only; breach of contract, antitrust, recusal, diversity jurisdiction Dismissing as frivolous appeal from judgment denying motion to remand and judgment dismissing breach of contract and antitrust claims, among other claims, … More February 24, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Davis, Higginson, Douglas), insurance Affirming summary judgment in favor of insurer on bad faith claims under Texas law. Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Southwick), criminal, search and seizure, Second Amendment Affirming constitutionality of conviction of possessing an unregistered suppressor in violation of the National Firearms Act, and upholding denial of motion … More February 6, 2025, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho), breach of contract Affirming summary judgment for defendant helicopter manufacturer on breach of contract, breach of implied duty, and quantum meruit claims by helicopter sales company. per curiam (Wiener, Ho, Ramirez), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (King, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal Granting Anders motion … More February 5, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, Dennis, Higginson), habeas corpus, Armed Career Criminal Act Vacating dismissal of § 2255 petition challenging ACCA-enhanced sentencing, on the basis that a new decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that abrogated prior Fifth Circuit precedent that Texas-law robbery by threat and aggravated robbery by threat qualified as … More February 3-4, 2025, opinions
