Tag: election law

September 9, 2026, opinions

September 10, 2026

Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Willett, Ho) (oral argument prior to certification to state supreme court), statutory immunity, personal tort Upon receiving state supreme court opinion after June 25, 2025, certification of question regarding statutory immunity, reversing district court’s ruling that defendant had immunity and remanding for further proceedings. The Breauxs and the Blanchards … More September 9, 2026, opinions

August 12, 2026, opinions

August 13, 2026

Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Oldham) (oral argument), election law, Americans with Disabilities Act, standing Reversing permanent injunction against provisions of Texas SB 1’s imposition of certain elections restrictions under Title II of the ADA. Multiple civil-rights organizations challenged nine provisions of Texas Senate Bill 1 (the Election Protection and Integrity Act of … More August 12, 2026, opinions

July 31, 2026, opinions

August 3, 2026

Designated for publication Duncan, J. (King, Higginson, Duncan) (no oral argument), tax law Granting motion to modify original panel opinion rendered June 8, 2026, and substituting new opinion that likewise affirmed tax court’s judgment upholding imposition of estate-tax liability and assessment of 20% negligence penalty. Anne Milner Fields, a businesswoman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, … More July 31, 2026, opinions

July 1-7, 2026, opinions

July 9, 2026

Designated for publication Willett, J. (Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt) (oral argument at original panel stage), preemption, taking, Contracts Clause Granting petition for panel rehearing and substituting for February 9, 2026, panel opinion, affirming summary judgment for Louisiana on pharmaceutical companies’ and trade group’s challenge to Louisiana statute on drug purchases. Pharmaceutical manufacturers AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and trade … More July 1-7, 2026, opinions

June 1, 2026, opinions

June 2, 2026

Designated for publication per curiam (en banc: Elrod, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ., voting against rehearing; Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ., voting for rehearing) (oral argument at panel stage); election law, standing, sovereign immunity, en banc Denying rehearing en banc of December 31, 2025, panel opinion (Richman, … More June 1, 2026, opinions

March 2, 2026, opinions

March 3, 2026

Designated for publication per curiam (Clement, Douglas, Ramirez) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing Affirming 71-month sentence for conviction of conspiracy to transport aliens and transporting aliens, by applying sentencing enhancement for transporting an unaccompanied minor. Luis Francisco Corona-Montano was convicted for conspiracy to transport aliens and transporting aliens after he picked up a group of … More March 2, 2026, opinions

February 12-13, 2026, opinions

February 18, 2026

Designated for publication Wilson, J. (King, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), immigration, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, res judicata Withdrawing December 15, 2025, opinion and substituting new opinion affirming dismissal of challenge to denial of visa for foreign student plaintiff sought to sponsor under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but in change from original panel opinions … More February 12-13, 2026, opinions

December 30-31, 2025, opinions

January 6, 2026

Designated for publication per curiam (Southwick, Higginson, Douglas) (no oral argument), sec. 1983, personal torts, municipal liability, prosecutorial immunity Affirming dismissal of claims for negligence and arising under sec. 1983 against various defendants, arising from serious car accident. The appellants, Madelyn Marina Quiroz and her mother, sued a host of defendants after Madelyn was catastrophically … More December 30-31, 2025, opinions

October 29, 2025, opinions

November 3, 2025

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

August 29, 2025, opinions

September 8, 2025

Designated for publication Willett, J. (Wiener, Willett, Ho), Ho, J., dissenting; criminal, search and seizure Affirming grant of motion to suppress evidence, begrudgingly. The exclusionary rule has long provoked controversy, with critics deriding it as a blunt judicial tool that frees the guilty when police make mistakes. The oft-quoted Cardozo line—“the criminal is to go … More August 29, 2025, opinions