Every decision we've summarized from United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a supervised release condition requiring mental health treatment. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in relying on the defendant's self-reported anxiety and depression.
The Fifth Circuit granted Louisiana's motion to stay the FDA's 2023 regulation allowing remote dispensing of mifepristone. The court held that the agency's admission of failing to study remote dispensing safety created irreparable harm that outweighed the public interest in maintaining the rule.
The Fifth Circuit vacated a district court's denial of a prisoner's Rule 60(b) motion because the motion functioned as an unauthorized successive habeas petition. The court held that the prisoner's claims did not allege a defect in the integrity of the prior proceedings, which is the only exception to the bar on successive petitions.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Kenric W. Young's conviction and 322-month sentence, finding no plain error in the district court's denial of his suppression motion or its career offender classification. The court held that the officer's reasonable suspicion to conduct a pat-down was supported by the totality of circumstances, including flight and a visible bulge, and that Young failed to prove a realistic probability that his prior state conviction would not qualify as a predicate offense.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion for leave to withdraw filed by appointed counsel. The court dismissed the appeal because the record was insufficient to evaluate claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the Benefits Review Board's award of permanent total disability benefits to a longshoreman, finding substantial evidence supported the lower tribunal's conclusion that the worker reached maximum medical improvement and could not return to the workforce. The court rejected the employer's arguments regarding alternative employment and job retraining, noting the employer failed to meet its burden of proof and forfeited the retraining argument.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an inmate's Eighth Amendment claim regarding prison conditions, ruling that the complaint failed to allege personal involvement by the named officials. The court held that the plaintiff did not provide sufficient facts to demonstrate that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm.
The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal of a former Texas prisoner seeking to challenge his conviction, ruling that his claims were untimely and failed to state a valid cause of action. The court held that the appellant's allegations of conspiracy and discrimination were conclusory and that he cannot raise new theories of relief for the first time on appeal.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act case involving a longshoreman's injury. The court held that the vessel owner did not breach its narrow duties regarding turnover, active control, or intervention.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a 240-month statutory maximum sentence for child pornography possession, rejecting claims that the district court unreasonably weighed the defendant's prior sexual assault conviction. The court held that the district court properly considered the defendant's lack of remorse and the need to protect the public under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).