Tag: guilty plea

July 1-7, 2026, opinions

July 9, 2026

Designated for publication Willett, J. (Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt) (oral argument at original panel stage), preemption, taking, Contracts Clause Granting petition for panel rehearing and substituting for February 9, 2026, panel opinion, affirming summary judgment for Louisiana on pharmaceutical companies’ and trade group’s challenge to Louisiana statute on drug purchases. Pharmaceutical manufacturers AbbVie, AstraZeneca, and trade … More July 1-7, 2026, opinions

June 25-26, 2026, opinions

June 27, 2026

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

June 15, 2026, opinions

June 16, 2026

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (King, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), False Claims Act, settlement agreement Affirming district court’s judgment enforcing oral settlement agreement reached at mediation of False Claims Act claim. The United States sued Dr. Dongxin Ma and Ma Acupuncture PC under the False Claims Act for allegedly submitting approximately $1.3 million in … More June 15, 2026, opinions

June 12, 2026, opinions

June 15, 2026

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Haynes, Higginson, Ho) (oral argument withdrawn), § 1983, sovereign immunity, supplemental jurisdiction Affirming as dismissal of § 1983 claims against Texas DOT as subject to sovereign immunity; and affirming declination to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims, though modified to be a dismissal without prejudice. John Gannon, Inc. owned billboards … More June 12, 2026, opinions

June 8, 2026, opinions

June 9, 2026

Designated for publication Duncan, J. (King, Higginson, Duncan) (no oral argument), tax law Affirming tax court’s judgment upholding imposition of estate-tax liability and assessment of 20% negligence penalty. As Anne Milner Fields’s health rapidly declined in 2016 due to end-stage Alzheimer’s, her great-nephew and agent Bryan Milner transferred approximately $17 million of her assets into … More June 8, 2026, opinions

June 4, 2026, opinions

June 5, 2026

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

June 1, 2026, opinions

June 2, 2026

Designated for publication per curiam (en banc: Elrod, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ., voting against rehearing; Jones, Smith, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ., voting for rehearing) (oral argument at panel stage); election law, standing, sovereign immunity, en banc Denying rehearing en banc of December 31, 2025, panel opinion (Richman, … More June 1, 2026, opinions

May 26, 2026, opinions

May 27, 2026

Designated for publication Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Oldham) (oral argument), criminal, sentencing, guilty plea Dismissing appeal of supervised release conditions in sentence, on basis that appeal was barred by appeal-waiver in plea agreement. Jamie Hackney pleaded guilty to production and transportation of child pornography. Per his plea agreement, he waived his right to appeal his … More May 26, 2026, opinions

May 22, 2026, opinions

May 25, 2026

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

May 21, 2026, opinions

May 22, 2026

Unpublished decisions per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal. per curiam (Stewart, Willett, Wilson) (no oral argument), jurisdiction, civil, amendment Vacating dismissal of pro se plaintiff’s civil action … More May 21, 2026, opinions