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Apr 14 2026
Fed. Cir. 24-1761 Panel Decision

DEFINITIVE HOLDINGS v. POWERTEQ

The Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidity of a patent under the pre-AIA on-sale bar, holding that a third-party sale of a device embodying the invention more than one year before the priority date renders the claims invalid regardless of whether the invention's details were publicly disclosed. The court further clarified that source code commands are not hearsay at summary judgment because they constitute instructions rather than statements of fact.

Civil Intellectual Property Summary Judgment
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Apr 14 2026
1st Cir. 24-1834 Panel Decision

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HECLOUIS JOEL NIEVES-DÍAZ

The First Circuit vacated a defendant's sentence because the district court failed to provide a sufficiently reasoned explanation for imposing a twenty-five-month upward variance above the Sentencing Guidelines range. This procedural error prevented the appellate court from reviewing the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, necessitating a remand for resentencing with proper justification.

Criminal Drug Trafficking Sentencing Guidelines Supervised Release
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Apr 14 2026
5th Cir. 25-40569 Per Curiam

United States v. Tovar-Martinez

The Fifth Circuit affirmed a conviction for illegal reentry, ruling that a district court does not violate Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 by failing to explicitly define 'official restraint' during a guilty plea colloquy. The court held that no clear or obvious error occurred because binding precedent does not require judges to address surveillance as a form of official restraint.

Criminal Immigration (Criminal)
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Apr 14 2026
7th Cir. 22-3114 Panel Decision

Bato Petrov v. Todd W. Blanche

The Seventh Circuit denied a petition for review challenging the denial of cancellation of removal for a stateless individual. The court found the Board of Immigration Appeals correctly determined that the petitioner failed to prove exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his United States citizen relatives.

Civil Immigration (Civil)
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Apr 14 2026
5th Cir. 25-30688 Per Curiam

Whitman v. Lambright

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction, holding that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine stripped the federal court of jurisdiction. The court ruled that the plaintiff's claims were an impermissible attempt to overturn a state child-support judgment rather than a challenge to ongoing constitutional violations.

Civil Civil Rights - Section 1983
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Apr 14 2026
Fed. Cir. 24-1924 Panel Decision

Upstream Holdings, LLC v. Brekunitch

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court's judgment in a contract dispute involving multiple parties. The court issued a per curiam order without providing a written opinion explaining the reasoning.

Civil Contract
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Apr 14 2026
7th Cir. 20-3517 Panel Decision

Bato Petrov v. Todd W. Blanche

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the Board of Immigration Appeals denial of a motion to reopen removal proceedings. The court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his United States citizen relatives.

Civil Immigration (Civil)
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