Unpublished decisions per curiam (Jones, Ho, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing Affirming 136-month sentence following a guilty plea for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The defendant challenged the quantity of drugs attributed to him for calculating his base offense level. He argued that statements from multiple confidential sources were unreliable and that the … More August 10, 2026, opinions
Unpublished per curiam (Stewart, Dennis, Wilson), workers’ compensation Affirming judgment against workers’ compensation insurer regarding voidability of policy under Mississippi law. per curiam (Southwick, Haynes, Douglas), criminal, sentencing Vacating 156-month sentence on conviction of carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, where district court expressed mistaken belief that Guidelines range was 84 … More September 3, 2024, opinions
Designated for publication Clement, J. (Clement, Haynes, Oldham), Haynes, J., dissenting; qualified immunity Reversing denial of qualified immunity for officer defendant arising from fatal shooting of suspect armed with a handgun equipped with a high-capacity ammunition extension, and rendering judgment dismissing excessive force claims brought by suspect’s survivors. The Court held, “We therefore conclude that, … More November 17, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Duncan, J. (Wiener, Southwick, Duncan), First Amendment Vacating preliminary injunction against enforcement of city ordinance regulating aspects of operations, including business hours, of sexually-oriented businesses, and remanding for further proceedings. The Court summarized, “Under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the Ordinance is likely constitutional. The City’s evidence reasonably showed a link between SOBs’ … More October 12, 2023, opinions
Designated for publication Richman, C.J. (Richman, Wiener, Willett), criminal, Anti-Kickback Statute, sufficiency of evidence, Travel Act, Speedy Trial Act, Bruton violation, Court Reporter’s Act, jury instructions, prosecutorial conduct, sentencing, restitution The Court upheld the sufficiency of evidence to support the Anti-Kickback Statute convictions of six co-defendants, holding that the government need not prove defendants had … More October 2-3, 2023, opinions
Catching up on the blog after some non-stop over-drive briefing weeks, so both published and unpublished opinions will only contain summary disposition information and not the usual fuller descriptions. Designated for publication U.S. v. Perry, 17-30610, c/w U.S. v. Price, 17-30611, appeal from E.D. La. Higginson, J. (Jones, Higginson, Duncan), criminal, sufficiency of evidence, Batson … More May 12, 2022, opinions
Designated for publication Thomas v. Lumpkin, 17-20661, appeal from S.D. Tex. Jones, J., order denying en banc rehearing, joined by Owen, Jones, Smith, Southwick, Haynes, Costa, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, JJ.; Graves, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing, joines by Elrod, J. (Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Graves, Higginson, Willett, voting to rehear); habeas corpus, ineffective … More Take the Fifth: Dec. 1, 2020 opinions
Martinez v. Pompeo, 19-41041, appeal from S.D. Tex., designated for publication per curiam (King, Graves, Oldham), immigration, Administrative Procedures Act Affirming dismissal of suit by plaintiffs for issuance of U.S. passport to father, who claimed to be a U.S. citizen, and for issuance of immigrant visas to his wife and step-daughter. Father had conflicting birth … More Take the Fifth: Oct. 12, 2020 opinions
