September 1, 2026, opinions

Designated for publication per curiam (King, Smith, Ramirez) (oral argument), criminal, restitution Affirming restitution award on misdemeanor depravation of rights conviction. Luis Enrique Padilla, the former chief of the Sunset Police Department in Sunset, Louisiana, used excessive force against a handcuffed individual, R.A., during a hit-and-run investigation in December 2023. Padilla “warned ‘let me show … More September 1, 2026, opinions

June 15, 2026, opinions

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (King, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), False Claims Act, settlement agreement Affirming district court’s judgment enforcing oral settlement agreement reached at mediation of False Claims Act claim. The United States sued Dr. Dongxin Ma and Ma Acupuncture PC under the False Claims Act for allegedly submitting approximately $1.3 million in … More June 15, 2026, opinions

May 5, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Smith, Higginson, Douglas), settlement agreement, jurisdiction In appeal from district court’s ruling on severed motions to enforce settlement agreements by parties in dispute arising from partnership agreement, remanding to district court to determine parties’ citizenship for purposes of diversity jurisdiction. The Court rejected party citizenship allegations supported merely “on information … More May 5, 2025, opinions

February 13, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication per curiam (Davis, Smith, Higginson), jurisdiction, settlement agreement, foreclosure Affirming district court’s judgment that it lacked ancillary jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement where the parties had filed an unconditional Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) stipulation of dismissal without a concurrent court order incorporating the agreement terms or expressly retaining jurisdiction over the agreement. Barksdale, … More February 13, 2025, opinions

January 15-16, 2025, opinions

Designated for publication Elrod, C.J. (Elrod, Dennis, Higginson), criminal, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction and 36-month sentence for wire fraud arising from fraudulent loan scheme involving the Paycheck Protection Program, but remanding for correction of a clerical error in the judgment. Wilson, J. (Jolly, Graves, Wilson), criminal, sentencing Vacating sentence based on enhancement for … More January 15-16, 2025, opinions

June 5-7, 2024, opinions

Designated for publication Smith, J. (joined by Jones, Stewart, Southwick, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, Ramirez, JJ.); Haynes, J., concurring in judgment only; Richman, C.J., dissenting (joined by Elrod, Graves, Douglas, JJ.); criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Miranda rights, due process On en banc rehearing of panel opinion that had reversed on the basis … More June 5-7, 2024, opinions

December 20, 2023, opinions

Designated for publication Elrod, J. (Higginbotham, Smith, Elrod), criminal, sentencing Affirming conviction for wire fraud, affirming 120-month imprisonment term, but vacating written judgment that sentence would run consecutively with any state-court sentences and remanding with order to conform to oral pronouncement that federal sentence would run concurrently with state-court sentences. Unpublished per curiam (Jones, Barksdale, … More December 20, 2023, opinions

December 18, 2023, opinions

Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Higginson, Duncan), Higginson, J., concurring; Clean Water Act, mootness Vacating district court’s judgment declining to review the Corps of Engineers’ jurisdictional determination under the Clean Water Act that landowner’s property contained jurisdictional wetlands, which determination the Corps had reached after the remand by the district court of an earlier … More December 18, 2023, opinions

December 8, 2023, opinions

Designated for publication per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Engelhardt), criminal, Commerce Clause, Second Amendment, gun laws Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon. The Court held there was no plain error in application of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) under the Commerce Clause, holding that Circuit precedent is clear that the statute does not … More December 8, 2023, opinions

May 11-16, 2023, opinions

Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Richman, King, Higginson), criminal, sentencing, Speedy Trial Act Affirming convictions and 540-month sentence for armed robberies of cell phone stores. The Court held that there was no Speedy Trial Act violation where the defendant’s counsel sought a continuance on the indictment past the Act’s 30-day deadline, holding that the Government … More May 11-16, 2023, opinions