Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Jones, Duncan, Douglas) (oral argument), standing, subject matter jurisdiction, administrative law Affirming dismissal of suit challenging final rules of the Department of Energy under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, holding that the Circuit Courts Appeals had exclusive jurisdiction over such judicial review challenged under the EPCA, to the exclusion … More October 6-7, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (King, Smith, Ramirez) (oral argument), criminal, restitution Affirming restitution award on misdemeanor depravation of rights conviction. Luis Enrique Padilla, the former chief of the Sunset Police Department in Sunset, Louisiana, used excessive force against a handcuffed individual, R.A., during a hit-and-run investigation in December 2023. Padilla “warned ‘let me show … More September 1, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, Richman, Willett), Willett, J., dissenting (no oral argument); qualified immunity, municipal liability Affirming the district court’s dismissal of all claims—both the individual-capacity claims on qualified immunity grounds and the Monell claim for failure to plausibly allege an official policy or custom. On August 29, 2020, Tara Fogleman-Laxey staged a … More August 24, 2026, opinions
Published decisions per curiam (Davis, Engelhardt, Oldham) (oral argument on original panel decision), federal officer jurisdiction On remand from U.S. Supreme Court on issue of federal officer removal, which had vacated the Fifth Circuit’s affirmance of the district courts’ remands to state courts, in turn remanding to district courts with instructions to proceed “consistent with … More May 22, 2026, opinions
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
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against rehearing en banc: Elrod, Stewart, Southwick, Graves, Higginson, Engelhardt, Ramirez, JJ.; voting for rehearing en banc: Jones, Richman, Willett, Duncan, Oldham, Wilson, JJ.) (recused/not voting in en banc poll: Smith, Haynes, Ho, Douglas, JJ.); federal officer jurisdiction, en banc Denying en banc rehearing of May 29, 2024, panel … More November 1-5, 2024, opinions
Take the Fifth’s resident opinion-aggregator was out of the country for the first two and a half weeks of July, so the following are just abbreviated accounts of dispositions without any summary. Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), bankruptcy, contempt Affirming contempt order entered by bankruptcy court against defendant in adversary proceeding. Stewart, … More July 1-17, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (joined by Jones, Stewart, Southwick, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, Ramirez, JJ.); Haynes, J., concurring in judgment only; Richman, C.J., dissenting (joined by Elrod, Graves, Douglas, JJ.); criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Miranda rights, due process On en banc rehearing of panel opinion that had reversed on the basis … More June 5-7, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Richman, Higginbotham, Willett), Richman, C.J., dissenting in part; securities law, fraud, breach of contract Affirming summary judgment dismissal of extracontractual and Texas Securities Act fraud claims; but reversing summary judgment on federal securities law and Delaware common law fraud claims; and remanding for further proceedings. Claims arose from an agreement … More May 23-29, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (King, Jones, Oldham), bankruptcy Affirming denial of motion to vacate bankruptcy court’s order removing four members of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and holding that the former members of the committee lack standing to prosecute the appeal. Jolly, J. (Jolly, Smith, Haynes), federal … More May 13, 2024, opinions
