Designated for publication Graves, J. (Clement, Graves, Ho) (oral argument), breach of contract, choice of law, indemnification, attorneys’ fees Affirming in part and vacating in part summary judgment for plaintiff on claim for indemnification for lawsuits arising from alleged fraudulent over-billing, and affirming in part and vacating in part award of attorneys’ fees, and remanding. … More March 3, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Smith, Richman, Graves) (oral argument), free exercise, mootness On receiving an answer of “no” from the Texas Supreme Court on the certified question of whether Texas’s Code of Judicial Conduct prohibited judges from publicly refusing to perform same-sex weddings while continuing to perform opposite-sex weddings, holding that the suit was … More February 24, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Wilson, J. (King, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), immigration, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, res judicata Withdrawing December 15, 2025, opinion and substituting new opinion affirming dismissal of challenge to denial of visa for foreign student plaintiff sought to sponsor under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but in change from original panel opinions … More February 12-13, 2026, opinions
Unpublished decisions per curiam (Higginbotham, Ho, Douglas) (no oral argument), criminal, jury instructions, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence Affirming 84-month sentence and conviction of one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and six counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. per curiam (Wiener, Engelhardt, Oldham) (no oral argument), Oldham, J., dissenting; criminal, compassionate … More January 28, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Douglas, J. (Smith, Higginson, Douglas) (oral argument), sec. 1988, standing, attorneys’ fees Affirming vacatur of attorneys’ fee award after vacatur of declaratory judgment relief for lack of standing in plaintiff’s constitutional challenge to city’s home rule charter. Plaintiffs-Appellants challenged provisions of the City of Houston home-rule charter requiring initiative petition circulators to … More January 2-6, 2026, opinions
Designated for publication Wiener, J. (Wiener, Engelhardt, Oldham) (oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, judicial estoppel Affirming convictions of conspiracy and healthcare fraud involving the hospice care reimbursement benefit available through Medicare. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions of Kristal Glover-Wing for one count of conspiracy and three counts of healthcare fraud arising out of … More December 12, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, J. (Smith, Dennis, Richman) (oral argument), Dennis, J., concurring; criminal, sentencing Affirming conviction and concurrent five-year and life sentences for conspiracy to stalk and cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon and resulting in death; but vacating conviction and consecutive life sentence for using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime … More December 10-11, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Graves, Ho) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing Vacating sentence in part and remanding for conformance of the written judgment of terms of supervised release with oral pronouncement. The Fifth Circuit confronted a recurring post-Diggles question: what should be done when a written judgment includes unpronounced discretionary conditions of supervised … More December 2, 2025, opinions
Published decisions per curiam (Smith, Haynes, Oldham) (no oral argument), Haynes, J., dissenting in footnote; immigration Denying motion for stay of removal, on basis that “[e]quitable relief—even if it is ‘temporary’ or ‘short’—is never a matter of right or convenience.” In a footnote, Judge Haynes expressed her disagreement, and “would grant a short temporary stay … More November 26, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Smith, J. (Smith, Stewart, Ramirez) (no oral argument), § 1983, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, default judgment Affirming district court’s denial of default judgment on plaintiffs’ FDCPA and constitutional claims against defendants arising from eviction from public housing, where “all defendants appeared before the district court, filed an answer, or moved to … More November 4, 2025, opinions
