Tag: mootness

Take the Fifth: Nov. 24, 2020 opinions

November 25, 2020

Designated for publication Smith v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 19-20818, appeal from S.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Dennis), defamation Affirming summary judgment in favor of Wal-Mart on plaintiff’s defamation claim for being misidentified as a shoplifter by a Wal-Mart employee. Court held that, under standard necessary to overcome the qualified privilege under Texas law that … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 24, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

November 16, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Batiste, 19-30927, appeal from E.D. La. Engelhardt, J., (Graves, Costa, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing, First Step Act Affirming in part sentence of imprisonment and denial of sentence-reduction under the First Step Act, but remanding in part the portion of the sentence regarding the term of supervised release for the district court … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 13, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Nov. 9 and 10, 2020 opinions

November 11, 2020

Designated for publication U.S. v. Cooper, 19-50119, appeal from W.D. Tex. Elrod, J. (Elrod, Duncan, Wilson), criminal, guilty plea Affirming conviction on use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, where defendant had pled guilty, finding sufficient factual bases to support plea; but remanding to correct that plea was to … More Take the Fifth: Nov. 9 and 10, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 28, 2020 opinions

October 29, 2020

Designated for publication Mi Familia Vota v. Abbott, 20-50907, appeal from W.D. Tex. per curiam (Owen, Davis, Southwick), election law, Covid-19, mask mandate On October 27, 2020, on a remand from the Fifth Circuit, the district court issued a preliminary injunction of one provision of Governor Abbott’s declaration regarding COVID-19-related election procedures in Texas–specifically, a … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 28, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 23, 2020 opinions

October 26, 2020

Designated for publication In the Matter of: Ward, 18-10469, appeal from N.D. Tex. Owen, C.J. (Owen, Clement, Ho), bankruptcy, timeliness Affirming district court’s judgment that the bankruptcy court did not err in finding creditors’ complaint seeking denial of debtor’s discharge was timely and in entering an order denying discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(4)(A) and … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 23, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 15, 2020 opinions

October 16, 2020

Designated for Publication Taylor v. McDonald, 18-11572, appeal from N.D. Tex. Smith, J. (Smith, Clement, Oldham), prisoner suit, § 1983, qualified immunity Affirming qualified-immunity-based dismissal of prisoner’s § 1983 suit for deprivation of due process by keeping him confined to a psychiatric unit without an involuntary commitment proceeding. Prisoner had initially consented to transfer to … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 15, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 13, 2020 opinions

October 14, 2020

Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton, 17-51060, appeal from W.D. Tex., designated for publication Dennis, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Willett), Willett, J., dissenting; abortion law Affirming district court’s judgment permanent injunction against the enforcement of Texas Senate Bill 8 (“SB8”) and its requirement that “a woman to undergo an additional and medically unnecessary procedure to cause fetal … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 13, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 6, 2020 opinions

October 7, 2020

U.S. v. Peterson, 19-11143, appeal from N.D. Tex., designated for publication Higginson, J. (Higginbotham, Jones, Higginson), criminal, attempted enticement of a minor, sentencing Affirming conviction and sentence of defendant for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). The Court rejected defendant’s challenge to the sufficiency f the … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 6, 2020 opinions

Take the Fifth: Oct. 5, 2020 opinions

October 5, 2020

Empower Texans, Inc. v. Geren, 19-50557, appeal from W.D. Tex., designated for publication Southwick, J. (Elrod, Southwick, Haynes), mootness Vacating District Court’s dismissal of suit on grounds of legislative immunity, holding the suit to be moot, and remanding with instructions to dismiss as moot. Plaintiffs had filed suit against the Chairman of the Committee on … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 5, 2020 opinions