Unpublished U.S. v. Clark, 20-10094, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Smith, Stewart, Graves), criminal, First Step Act Vacating district court’s denial of a motion for sentence reduction under the First Step Act, and remanding for further proceedings in light of United States v. Shkambi, 993 F.3d 388, 393 (5th Cir. 2021). U.S. v. Castillo, … More July 20, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Trujillo, 20-10679, appeal from N.D. Tex. Ho, J. (King, Dennis, Ho), criminal, sentencing Reforming judgment to reflect the conviction for illegal reentry after removal should be pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(1) for illegal reentry after a conviction for a felony other than an aggravated felony, rather than under 18 … More July 9, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Goodrich v. U.S., 20-30422, appeal from W.D. La. Stewart, J. (Higginbotham, Stewart, Wilson), tax, successions Certifying questions of Louisiana successions law to Louisiana Supreme Court in order to resolve issue of plaintiffs’ standing to challenge IRS’s levy on the plaintiffs’ father’s succession account. When plaintiffs’ mother died, she left her interest in … More July 6, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Cope v. Cogdill, 19-10798, appeal from N.D. Tex. Haynes, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Haynes), Dennis, J., dissenting; qualified immunity Reversing district court’s denial of qualified immunity for officers sued after the jailhouse suicide death of Derrek Monroe, and rendering judgment in favor of officers. Monroe was a pretrial detainee in the Coleman County … More July 2, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Tinney, 20-10849, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Davis, Duncan, Oldham), criminal, sentencing Affirming 18-month revocation sentence, plus an additional five years of supervised release, for recidivist sexual offender. The Court held that the district court did not commit plain error in mistakenly conflating criminal history score with criminal history … More June 29, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication SED Holdings, LLC v. St. John, 19-20841, appeal from S.D. Tex. Duncan, J. (Haynes, Duncan, Engelhardt), fraud, breach of contract, res judicata, judicial estoppel Affirming judgment of fraud, but finding damages excessive and remanding for remittitur, and vacating judgment of breach of contract, and remanding for further proceedings. This case arose from … More June 17, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Vasquez, 20-40332, appeal from E.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Jolly, Dennis), immigration Reversing district court’s declination to revoke citizenship status from naturalized former El Salvadoran military officer. During the Salvadoran Civil War, the defendant had a role in extrajudicial killings and a subsequent cover-up. Based on this role, the U.S. … More June 11, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Morton, 19-10842, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Jones, Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson); criminal, search and seizure Vacating January 5, 2021 opinion that vacated sentence of conviction on child pornography charges and reversed district court’s denial of motion … More Take the Fifth: May 19, 2021 opinions
Unpublished Mills v. Adams County, Mississippi, 19-60829, appeal from S.D. Miss. per curiam (Wiener, Southwick, Duncan), prisoner suit Dismissing appeal for lack of jurisdiction due to untimely filed notice of appeal. U.S. v. Fernandez, 20-10479, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Graves, Willett, Duncan), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. U.S. v. … More Take the Fifth: May 13, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Sanchez v. Oliver, 20-50282, appeal from W.D. Tex. Clement, J. (Jones, Clement, Graves), qualified immunity, deliberate indifference Reversing district court’s summary judgment dismissal of deliberate indifference claim against clinical social worker who had taken pretrial detainee off suicide watch prior to his committing suicide, and remanding for further proceedings. The victim’s mother … More Take the Fifth: April 26, 2021 opinions
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