Designated for publication Stewart, J. (Higginbotham, Stewart, Haynes) (no oral argument), judicial estoppel, personal tort On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, from prior Fifth Circuit affirmance of dismissal of plaintiff’s suit, remanding back to district court to assess judicial estoppel from plaintiff’s failure to disclose claim on bankruptcy schedules. Thomas Keathley brought a personal … More July 17, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Graves, Engelhardt) (oral argument), habeas corpus, First Amendment, ineffective assistance of counsel Affirming denial of habeas relief. Irving Davis raped and murdered 15-year-old Melissa Medina in 2001, cutting off her fingertips to prevent DNA identification. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death; the Texas Court of … More June 25-26, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (en banc), First Amendment, en banc Ordering en banc hearing in the first instance, and consolidating for purposes of argument only, of two district court injunction decisions regarding the Texas A&M system’s dragshows policy–one from the Northern District of Texas (Spectrum WT) denying a preliminary injunction against a university ban … More June 22, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Smith, Haynes, Oldham) (no oral argument at motion stage), Haynes, J., concurring in order only (w/o op.); First Amendment, vagueness, injunctions Granting defendant Texas’s motion for stay of preliminary injunction pending appeal regarding SB 2420, which placed age and parental-guidance regulations on app stores and in-app purchases. The Texas Legislature … More June 4, 2026, opinions
per curiam (Graves, Ho, Douglas) (no oral argument), Ho, J., concurring; First Amendment Published order granting stay pending appeal of injunction against enforcement of Texas S.B. 13, which prohibits Texas public entities from investing in private funds that refuse to invest in energy companies. The American Sustainable Business Council sued Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and … More May 29, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Wilson, 24-10633, appeal from N.D. Tex. per curiam (Jones, Smith, Graves, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, voting for en banc rehearing; Elrod, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Higginson, Willett, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, voting against en banc rehearing) (oral argument at panel stage); Willett, J., issuing opinion “respecting the denial” (joined by Elrod, … More April 30, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Graves, Ho) (oral argument), First Amendment, sec. 1983 Affirming dismissal of sec. 1983 claims arising from court’s limits on release of bail bond orders. Scott Martin operates Pronto Direct Mail Marketing, Inc., a company that for decades collected criminal defendants’ contact information from publicly available bail bond orders in … More April 22, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (joined by Elrod, Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson; except Willett, Ho, Oldham do not join as to standing/justiciability); Ho, J., concurring; Oldham, J., concurring (joined by Willett); Ramirez, J., dissenting (joined by Stewart, Richman, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Douglas); Southwick, J., dissenting (joined by Richman, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, Ramirez); … More April 21, 2026, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Davis, Jones, Ho) (no oral argument), criminal, guilty plea Affirming conviction for illegal entry. Victor Alfredo Tovar-Martinez appealed his conviction for illegal reentry, contending his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary because the district court failed to inform him during the Rule 11 colloquy that the statute applies only to … More April 14, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Ho, J. (Haynes, Higginson, Ho) (no oral argument), Higginson, J., dissenting; mandamus, venue, antitrust Granting mandamus to compel the district court to transfer venue to the Northern District of California. Branch Metrics, Inc. sued Google, LLC in the Eastern District of Texas, alleging Sherman Act violations based on documents uncovered during the … More April 7, 2026, opinions
