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 Southwick, J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Southwick), maritime law Vacating and remanding for further proceedings the district court’s summary judgment on the question of the existence of a valid maritime lien on barges that shipyard and performed substantial changes to; and dismissing appeal in part. The Fifth Circuit held that the district court erred … More May 22, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, Jones, Smith, Willett, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson) (Ho, J., recused; Haynes, J., concurring in judgment only); Dennis, J., dissenting (joined by Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, Ramirez); en banc, labor law, First Amendment After panel opinion affirmed NLRB order finding that tweet by Tesla CEO Elon Musk regarding … More October 25, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing Affirming 33-month sentence and conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon, holding that the district court acted appropriately in accepting the Sentencing Guidelines’ commentary defining “large capacity magazine” and that the underlying criminal statute is not unconstitutional; but vacating imposition of discretionary terms … More October 15, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), Ho, J., concurring; criminal, sentencing On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, affirming defendant’s conviction of being in possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence restraining order; and affirming sentence of 73 months to run consecutively with any state court sentence on pending charges. … More September 10-12, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (King, Ho, Engelhardt), Ho, J., concurring in judgment; criminal, sufficiency of evidence, timeliness, restitution Reversing conviction for bankruptcy fraud, but affirming conviction for tax evasion and order of restitution as condition of supervised release. The Court held that the defendant’s indictment for bankruptcy fraud should have been dismissed as untimely, … More July 23, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Richman, Southwick, Oldham), election law, sovereign immunity Reversing district court’s denial of District Attorney’s motion to dismiss constitutional claims of voters and others challenging recent amendments to Texas election laws, holding that District Attorney is entitled to sovereign immunity; vacating denial of motion to dismiss for lack of standing; and … More June 20-21, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Willett, Wilson, Ramirez), breach of contract Affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant on plaintiff’s breach of contract and fraud claims arising from alleged breach of supplier-exclusivity agreement between defendant and plaintiff’s predecessor-in-interest. The Court held that the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim was time-barred on its face, and that … More April 3, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Dennis, Douglas), immigration Denying Honduran citizen’s petition for review of BIA order denying motion to reopen removal proceedings for adjustment of status based on marriage to U.S. citizen. The Court held that the petitioner was never previously validly admitted to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant because, while he had … More March 4, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Dennis, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Higginson), Higginson, J., dissenting; False Claims Act Affirming dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of former employee’s False Claims Act claims against former employer, claiming retaliation for reporting fraudulent misrepresentations made to the Navy, and summary judgment dismissal of remaining claim; holding that “the district court correctly held … More February 14-16, 2024, opinions
