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 Haynes, J. (Smith, Barksdale, Haynes), immigration Denying in part and dismissing in part Venezuelan citizen’s petition for review of BIA order denying application for withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. The Court held that the petitioner’s conviction on one count of falsely seeking a tax refund of less … More November 28, 2022, opinions
Playing catch-up from traveling and holidays, so the “designated for publication” summaries will be briefer than usual, but feel free, as always, to click through to the opinions that may interest you. Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Barksdale, Haynes), criminal Vacating conviction for failure to register as a sex offender on basis that guilty … More November 16-23, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Clement, Duncan, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, forfeiture Affirming conviction of numerous wire-fraud and money-laundering charges arising from fraud to induce Department of Veterans Affairs to pay over $71 million in GI-Bill funds to defendant’s trade school; and affirming sentence of 235 months and restitution to the VA of $65.2 million; but … More November 15, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, J. (Dennis, Elrod, Duncan), Title IX Affirming summary judgment dismissal of deliberate indifference claims against school district as to risk of 14-year-old plaintiff’s violent sexual assault in high school stairwell (requiring multiple surgeries to remedy), but reversing summary judgment dismissal of claims of deliberate indifference to totality of harassment, which included … More November 14, 2022, opinions
(Playing a bit of catch-up after some traveling and oral arguing, so the “Designated for Publication” summaries will be a bit briefer than usual) Designated for publication Graves, J. (Wiener, Graves, Oldham), Wiener, J., dissenting; products liability Affirming dismissal of products-liability claims against firearms manufacturer for an allegedly faulty trigger mechanism. The Court held that … More November 2-9, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Wilson), Dennis, J., dissenting in part; criminal, sufficiency of evidence, restitution, competence, severance, search and seizure, Brady violation Affirming in part, vacating in part, and remanding for further proceedings on convictions and sentences arising from RICO conspiracy, drug trafficking, firearms, and murder charges related to violent gang activity. … More October 11-17, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Duncan, Oldham), Oldham, J., dissenting; immigration Denying Mexican citizen’s petition for review of BIA order dismissing appeal of IJ order that IJ lacked jurisdiction to decide application for cancelation of a reinstatement of removal under the Violence Against Women Act. The Court held that, under the rule of orderliness, … More September 30, 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 Harness v. Watson, 19-60632, appeal from S.D. Miss. [ed.: Note that the following en banc decision was announced by the Court as “per curiam,” i.e., “for the court,” and at the beginning of that decision then listed all 17 active-status judges, intimating at the outset that the decision was for the entire … More August 24, 2022, opinions
