Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Anthony Hrncir's pro se complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court held that Hrncir failed to adequately brief his arguments and that his novel legal theories regarding intellectual consciousness do not establish a valid cause of action under the Freedom of Information Act or the Privacy Act.
The Fifth Circuit granted appointed counsel's motion to withdraw and dismissed the criminal appeal after finding no nonfrivolous issues for review. The court concluded the appeal was frivolous under the Anders standard because the defendant failed to file a response and the record supported counsel's assessment.
The Fifth Circuit vacated three supervised release conditions imposed on a child pornography defendant because the district court failed to specify their duration or justify their necessity. The court held that location monitoring cannot include home detention without explicit order and that financial conditions require a finalized restitution award to be lawful.
The Fifth Circuit granted the Federal Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representing the defendant after finding no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Consequently, the court dismissed the defendant's criminal appeal.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Gabriel Hawthorne's conviction and sentence for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, finding the evidence sufficient to support the verdict. The court also rejected Hawthorne's motion for a new trial and found no error in the district court's sentencing explanation.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 60-month prison sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, rejecting claims that the district court erred in denying a mitigating role reduction. The court further held that the within-guidelines sentence was substantively reasonable and that general arguments regarding deterrence or historical disparities were insufficient to warrant reversal.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that the plaintiff's insurance claims were time-barred under Michigan law. The court further ruled that the policy's choice-of-law provision selecting Michigan law was valid and enforceable.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 360-month sentence for child pornography production, ruling that the defendant failed to prove the government's gender-based comments at sentencing constituted plain or structural error. The court held that the district court's reliance on the nature of the crime and abuse of trust, rather than the defendant's sex, meant the defendant's substantial rights were not affected.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Robert Phillips' pro se complaint, holding that his allegations failed to state plausible claims for relief under federal civil rights statutes. The court concluded that Phillips did not adequately allege discrimination based on race or a protected characteristic, as his termination was allegedly motivated by his refusal to purchase illegal drugs.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se plaintiff's lawsuit alleging wrongful mortgage transfer, rejecting the argument that failure to record a loan transfer voids the debt. The court held that the plaintiff's reliance on non-existent case law and abandoned legal theories provided no basis to overturn the district court's ruling.