Designated for publication per curiam (Stewart, Clement, Willett), criminal, sentencing Withdrawing prior opinion after petition for rehearing, and substituting new opinion affirming sentence of defendant on issue of intervening amendment to Sentencing Guidelines. Darrell Wickware, previously convicted of robbery under Texas law, was charged in 2021 with unlawful possession of a firearm as a convicted … More July 22, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (Jones, Oldham, Hendrix, by designation), Sarbanes-Oxley Act, employment law, timeliness, Rule 59(e) Reversing dismissal of employee’s Sarbanes-Oxley anti-retaliation claim against employer, but affirming dismissal of claim against employer’s parent company, and remanding for further poceedings. The case involves a Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) whistleblower retaliation claim brought by Vuoncino, a corporate … More June 3, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (Elrod, Jones, Barksdale), Second Amendment Reversing district court’s judgment that a 1968 federal statute prohibiting sale of handguns to 18- to 20-year-old adults was not unconstitutional and finding the ban is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment; overruling Court’s precedent from National Rifle Association, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, … More January 30, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication per curiam (voting against rehearing: Elrod, Stewart, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Engelhardt, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ.; voting for rehearing: Jones, Smith, Richman, Ho, Duncan, Oldham, JJ.), Ho, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing; Oldham, J. (joined by Jones, Smith, Duncan, JJ.), dissenting from denial of rehearing; prisoner suit, appellate jurisdiction, en … More January 28, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Southwick, J. (Southwick, Haynes, Douglas), Haynes, J., concurring; habeas corpus Affirming dismissal of § 2254 application based on holding that state court’s decision was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent, when the state court determined that false testimony from the sole identifying witness regarding his … More January 17-22, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Stewart, J. (Smith, Stewart, Duncan), arbitration Reversing district court’s order compelling arbitration of plaintiff’s employment and First Amendment claims, and remanding to district court to first determine County’s motion to dismiss on government immunity grounds. Willett, J. (Elrod, Willett, Duncan), Elrod, C.J., dissenting in part; qualified immunity Reversing denial of summary judgment … More January 10, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Smith, Clement, Higginson), breach of contract On breach of contract claim arising from the extension of a lease over a whole tract, rather than a portion, by a bank that managed co-lessor’s interest in a mineral interests on the tract, affirming district court’s judgment that the lease calculated royalty on … More January 6, 2025, opinions
Designated for publication Clerk Order (Voting AGAINST en banc hearing in the first instance: Elrod, Smith, Stewart, Richman, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Duncan, Engelhardt, Wilson, Douglas, Ramirez, JJ.; voting FOR en banc hearing in the first instance: Jones, Ho, Oldham, JJ.); First Amendment, en banc Order denying motion for the en banc Court to … More December 30-31, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Higginson, J. (Smith, Clement, Higginson), criminal, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence, Affirming convictions of substantive healthcare in scheme to defraud TRICARE by ordering unnecessary toxicology and DNA cancer screening tests, finding sufficient evidence to support convictions, finding no plain error in district court’s exclusion of testimony regarding statements purportedly made to defendant by … More December 9-13, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Jones, J. (Jones, Barksdale, Ho), criminal Affirming conviction of illegal reentry, which resulted in surrender to immigration officials for deportation. The Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the district court had improperly shifted the burden to him to prove the invalidity of the waiver of rights regarding the underlying deportation rather than … More November 8, 2024, opinions
