Designated for publication Ho, J. (Stewart, Higginson, Ho) (no oral argument), removal, diversity jurisdiction, personal tort Vacating remand order in case removed on basis of diversity jurisdiction, and remanding to federal district court for further proceedings. Rubidia De Chavez and other plaintiffs brought a state-law tort suit following the death of her husband against several … More October 30, 2026, decisions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Engelhardt, Wilson) (oral argument), Title VII, employment discrimination, labor law, jury instructions, pleadings amendment Denying petition for en banc rehearing, but granting petition for panel rehearing and substituting a new opinion in place of the panel’s May 8, 2025, opinion; reversing the denial of Southwest’s motion for judgment as a matter of law … More October 14-15, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Elrod, King, Graves), Elrod, C.J., concurring; Graves, J., dissenting; criminal, Second Amendment Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. Alvaro Alejandro Mancilla pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) after he and his cousin were arrested at a … More September 10, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Wiener, Willett, Ho), Ho, J., dissenting; criminal, search and seizure Affirming grant of motion to suppress evidence, begrudgingly. The exclusionary rule has long provoked controversy, with critics deriding it as a blunt judicial tool that frees the guilty when police make mistakes. The oft-quoted Cardozo line—“the criminal is to go … More August 29, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Southwick), criminal, Second Amendment, search and seizure Affirming conviction of possessing an unregistered suppressor in violation of various provisions of the National Firearms Act, rejecting Second Amendment challenge, and upholding denial of motion to suppress. George Peterson, a firearms dealer operating out of his home, was investigated by … More August 27, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Elrod, Higginbotham, Southwick), personal tort, Federal Tort Claims Act Affirming judgment in favor of plaintiff in personal injury and death arising from an auto collision with a U.S. Postal Service vehicle that then caused the plaintiff to go forward and collide with his neighbor’s house. The Court analyzed a case … More May 16-18, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Hendrix, J. (Jones, Oldham, Hendrix, by designation), criminal Affirming conviction of fraud and financial crimes arising from real-estate scheme, rejecting arguments that admission of prior-convictions evidence was plain error and that district court abused its discretion in limiting the good-faith defense and denying funding for expert witness. Smith, J. (Elrod, Smith, Engelhardt), … More March 7, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Wilson, J. (Davis, Graves, Wilson), administrative law Affirming dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims challenging as applied to them the use of a Total Per Capita Cost measure as part of the government defendants’ Merit-Based Incentive Payment System for purposes of adjustment of Medicare reimbursement rates, finding that plaintiffs’ regulatory challenge was statutorily barred. … More January 23-26, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson), Ho, J., concurring; criminal, sentencing On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, affirming defendant’s conviction of being in possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence restraining order; and affirming sentence of 73 months to run consecutively with any state court sentence on pending charges. … More September 10-12, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Willett, J. (Dennis, Willett, Duncan), Duncan, J., concurring; removal, appellate jurisdiction Dismissing for lack of appellate jurisdiction appeal from waiver-based remand order. “Edward Festeryga, an attorney embroiled in a dispute with his former law firm, wants this case heard in federal court and contends we have appellate jurisdiction over the district court’s … More July 25, 2024, opinions
