Designated for publication Landry’s, Inc. v. The Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania, 19-20430, appeal from S.D. Tex. Oldham, J. (Smith, Oldham; Ho, recused, op. by quorum); insurance Reversing district court’s summary judgment that insurer did not have a duty to defend retail chain that was defending itself against a claim by the processing … More July 21, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Hudgens, 19-50628, appeal from W.D. Tex. Clement, J. (Jones, Clement, Graves), Graves, J., dissenting; criminal, sentencing Affirming 240-month sentence on guilty plea to two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. Defendant had provided heroin to his girlfriend, who immediately began to show signs of … More July 16, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Castro, 18-10137, appeal from N.D. Tex. Oldham, J. (Ho, Oldham, Wilson), habeas corpus Vacating certificate of appealability and dismissing appeal. “A judge on our court granted Adrian Castro a certificate of appealability. It’s undisputed that the COA is invalid under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2)–(3) because it fails to specify a … More July 14, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Gaspar-Felipe, 19-50997, appeal from W.D. Tex. Duncan, J. (Jones, Costa, Duncan), criminal, sentencing, Confrontation Clause, sufficiency of evidence Affirming convictions and 78-month sentence for defendant’s role in an alien smuggling operations in which the person being smuggled died. The Court held that there was no Confrontation Clause violation in the … More July 13, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication Singh v. Garland, 19-60937, petition for review of BIA order Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Southwick, Willett), immigration Granting stay pending review of petition for review of BIA order dismissing Indian citizen’s appeal of IJ decision denying his application for asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture and finding petitioner not credible. Petitioner’s … More July 12, 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 Adeeko v. Garland, 19-60703, petition for review of BIA order Wilson, J. (Clement, Haynes, Wilson), Haynes, J., concurring; immigration Denying petition for review of BIA order affirming IJ’s order of removal of Nigerian citizen after the Department of Homeland Security charged him as being removable upon his conviction of online solicitation of … More July 1, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Parker, 19-60077, appeal from S.D. Miss. Davis, J. (Davis, Duncan, Oldham), habeas corpus, Armed Career Criminal Act Affirming denial of § 2255 petition for relief from his mandatory life sentence on armed robbery conviction on basis that prior convictions were classified as “serious violent felonies” only pursuant to the ACCA’s … More June 30, 2021 opinions
Designated for publication U.S. v. Norbert, 20-60106, appeal from S.D. Miss. per curiam (Owen, Jones, Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson), en banc, criminal, search and seizure Vacating March 16 panel opinion (Davis, J., joined by Stewart, J.; Oldham, J., dissenting), which had affirmed the district … More June 28, 2021 opinions
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