Designated for publication Higginbotham, J. (Higginbotham, Ho, Douglas) (no oral argument), Federal Tort Claims Act Affirming dismissal of FTCA claims. The Fifth Circuit reviewed pro se claims brought by Howard and Theresa Ellsworth under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), arising from alleged negligent diabetes treatment Mr. Ellsworth received at VA facilities between 2016 and … More November 18-20, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Engelhardt, J. (Dennis, Southwick, Engelhardt) (oral argument), Dennis, J., dissenting in part; First Amendment, sovereign immunity, standing Vacating injunction entered on First Amendment pre-enforcement challenge brought by drag performer and organizations against Texas law regulating “sexually oriented performances on public property and in the presence of minors”; and remanding for further proceedings. … More November 6, 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 Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Clement, Haynes) (no oral argument), Rooker-Feldman doctrine, personal tort, defamation Vacating Rooker-Feldman-based dismissal of plaintiff attorney’s defamation claims against defendant attorneys who had represented the plaintiff’s client’s employer in underlying Title IX claims brought by plaintiff’s client arising from alleged sexual assault and harassment of university students by university’s … More October 8, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (Elrod, Jones, Stewart) (oral argument), equal protection clause, First Amendment, Commerce Clause Affirming in part and reversing in part district court’s summary judgment finding city’s short-term rental regulations constitutional, and remanding for further proceedings. The Fifth Circuit reviewed New Orleans’s regulation of short-term rentals (STRs)—defined as rentals of fewer than … More October 7, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (en banc); en banc, First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, ripeness, standing, sovereign immunity Granting en banc rehearing of June 20, 2025, panel opinion (Dennis, Haynes, Ramirez; Dennis, J., concurring) affirming district court judgment of facial unconstitutionality and preliminary injunction of state law requiring display of Ten Commandments in … More October 6, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Stewart, Dennis, Haynes) (oral argument), criminal, evidence, sufficiency of evidence, sentencing Affirming conviction and 293-month sentence for drug trafficking and distribution offenses and possession of child pornography. Sean Shaughnessy appealed his conviction and sentence after a jury found him guilty of two drug-conspiracy counts, one drug-distribution count, and one count … More October 1-2, 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
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
