Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Southwick), habeas corpus Affirming district court judgment granting sec. 2241 petition on holding that Louisiana state prisoner had a state-created liberty interest in parole that had been granted under Louisiana law, in suit arising from rescission of that parole just prior to its effective date. The Court first … More October 23, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication deGravelles, J. (Haynes, Engelhardt, deGravelles, by designation), maritime law, punitive damages Affirming the judgment after a bench trial that defendant had wrongfully arrested and detained the plaintiff’s vessel after ramming it and preventing its departure from the defendant’s shipyard for five days, that punitive damages were justified, and that prejudgment interest was … More October 16-17, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), criminal, expert witness Affirming conviction of sex trafficking of a child, upholding introduction of evidence pulled from defendant’s cell phone using Cellebrite technology without the investigator through whose testimony the evidence was submitted being first qualified as an expert witness. The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that … More October 13, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Wiener, Southwick, Duncan), First Amendment Vacating preliminary injunction against enforcement of city ordinance regulating aspects of operations, including business hours, of sexually-oriented businesses, and remanding for further proceedings. The Court summarized, “Under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the Ordinance is likely constitutional. The City’s evidence reasonably showed a link between SOBs’ … More October 12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Oldham, J. (Dennis, Engelhardt, Oldham), Title VII, employment discrimination Reversing summary judgment dismissal of employee’s discrimination claims after he was fired for his refusal to cut his hair and beard in violation of his religious vow, in light of Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). The Court held that the … More September 15, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Smith, Southwick, Higginson), criminal, supervised release Affirming imposition of 15 “standard conditions” for terms of supervised release from district court’s Standing Order, where oral pronouncement included that the supervised release would be “subject to the standard conditions” but did not otherwise expressly articulate those conditions. Elrod, J. (Dennis, Elrod, Ho), … More September 8-11, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Ho, J. (Jones, Ho, Wilson), administrative law, standing Granting petition for review of NRC order, and vacating license for temporary storage for spent nuclear fuel, holding that the NRC does not have authority under the Atomic Energy Act to license temporary nuclear waste storage facilities. The Court first held that the petitioners … More August 25, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Dennis, J. (King, Jones, Dennis), Jones, J., dissenting, voting rights, Eighth Amendment, Equal Protection, standing, sovereign immunity, Ex parte Young Reversing district court’s dismissal of plaintiff class’s Eighth Amendment challenge to Mississippi constitution’s permanent disenfranchisement of certain felons; affirming dismissal of plaintiff class’s Equal Protection claim against the Mississippi Secretary of State … More August 4, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Wiener, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, sentencing, Brady violation, restitution Affirming convictions of depriving two persons of their constitutional rights under color of law, arising from defendant’s sexual assault of two men while a police officer, and concurrent sentences of 12 and 360 months. The Court held that withheld evidence was not … More April 6-12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Richman, Ho, Engelhardt), National Environmental Policy Act, sovereign immunity Affirming summary judgment in favor of Corps of Engineers on plaintiffs’ claims that Corps should be compelled to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement pursuant to NEPA to increase usage of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, which summary judgment dismissed claims on … More March 27, 2023, opinions
