Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Graves, Ho) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing Vacating sentence in part and remanding for conformance of the written judgment of terms of supervised release with oral pronouncement. The Fifth Circuit confronted a recurring post-Diggles question: what should be done when a written judgment includes unpronounced discretionary conditions of supervised … More December 2, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication King, J. (King, Smith, Douglas) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Brady violation, witness testimony Affirming conviction of sex trafficking. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and 480-month sentence of Larry Odell Lewis for sex trafficking and coercion-and-enticement offenses involving four women he controlled as prostitutes between 2014 and 2017. The court … More October 21, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Wiener, Douglas, Ramirez) (oral argument), Ramirez, J., dissenting; habeas corpus, speedy trial, Sixth Amendment, AEDPA Reversing denial of § 2254 petition and remanding with instructions to issue writ of habeas corpus regarding petitioner’s speedy trial claim arising from the elapsing of 1,233 days between his arrest and his state court … More October 16, 2025, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), habeas corpus Affirming denial of § 2241 petition filed by federal inmate serving a 280-year sentence. Higginson, J. (Southwick, Higginson, Wilson) (oral argument withdrawn), criminal, sentencing Affirming 50-month sentence on conviction of wire fraud. per curiam (Jones, Richman, Ramirez) (no oral argument), criminal, appellate jurisdiction … More October 10, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication en banc (vote to grant en banc reh’g); Ho, J., concurring in grant of rehearing en banc; Higginson, J., dissenting from grant of rehearing en banc; en banc, immigration, due process, Alien Enemies Act, habeas corpus On September 2, the three-judge panel (Southwick, J., writing for the court; Ramirez, J., dissenting in … More September 30, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt), takings Affirming dismissal of plaintiff’s inverse condemnation claim against City, dismissal of Declaratory Judgment Act claim, and remand of breach of contract and other claims to state court. The plaintiffs, a group of developers, contracted with the City of Mesquite to carry out public improvement projects, including … More September 23, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Duncan, Engelhardt), indemnity, maritime law Affirming that contract between plaintiff and defendant was not a “maritime contract,” and that the indemnity provision was therefore invalid. Genesis Energy appealed the dismissal of its crossclaim for defense and indemnification against Danos, LLC, after a Danos employee was injured transferring from an … More September 15, 2025, opinions
Willett, J. (Dennis, Willett, Duncan), remand Reversing waiver-based order of remand based on defendant’s participation in state court proceedings. The Fifth Circuit revisited a waiver-based remand dispute after the en banc court had cleared out circuit precedent that the panel had held tied its hands on an earlier review. Edward Festeryga, sued in Texas state … More September 11, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Ho, J. (Haynes, Ho, Oldham), criminal, restitution Affirming judgment that defendant’s service-connected payments were not exempt from garnishment to pay restitution order. The Fifth Circuit affirmed a writ of garnishment on $46,084.49 in Christopher Allen-Shinn’s USAA account to satisfy $92,500 in restitution from his child-pornography conviction, holding that 26 U.S.C. § 6334(a)(10)’s … More September 9, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Richman, Willett, Douglas), Douglas, J., dissenting; international custody, Hague Convention Granting panel rehearing, and entering new panel opinion reversing and remanding to district court with instructions to order the return of child to father in Venezuela. A Venezuelan father, Jose Leonardo Brito Guevara, sought the return of his daughter, A.F., … More September 4-5, 2025, opinions
