No Plain Error for Rule 11 Factual-Basis Challenges Turning on Disputable Inferences and Unsettled Construction of 18 U.S.C. § 933(a)(2) Case: United States v. Hernandez (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2026) (per...
Plain-Error Vacatur When a Sentencing Court Repeatedly Relies on Extra-Record Aggravating Facts Case: United States v. Palencia-Berrum (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2026) 1. Introduction United States v....
Later, More Lenient SEC Sweep Settlements Do Not Justify Modifying a Final Settled Order Absent Rufo-Type Changed Circumstances; Post Hoc Waiver Arguments Are Barred 1. Introduction In Apex Clearing...
Due Process Minimums in Equity-Receivership Distribution Orders Affecting Asserted Secured Lien Rights Case: Black v. Unibank (as styled in the provided materials) Court: United States Court of...
Teague Bars “Shifted-Science” Brady Claims Absent Contemporaneous Prosecutorial Knowledge; Public-Domain Forensic Debate Is Not “Suppressed” Case: Herod v. Guerrero (5th Cir. Aug. 25, 2026)...
Deadly Force During a Hostage Standoff: No Fourth Amendment Excessive Force When Officers Shoot an Armed Captor Posing an Immediate Threat, Even if a Hostage Is Unintentionally Killed 1. Introduction...
Forfeiture on Reconsideration: The Fifth Circuit Limits § 922(g)(1) As-Applied Review to the Timely-Made Record and a Simple-Possession Predicate 1. Introduction United States v. Luna (5th Cir. Aug....
Fifth Circuit: Unpronounced “Standard” Supervised-Release Conditions Must Be Stricken Absent a Record Basis to Infer Defendant Personally Reviewed the PSR I. Introduction In United States v. Newton...
Qualified Immunity at the Pleading Stage Requires Fact-Specific “Clearly Established” Law—General Anti-Retaliation and No-Probable-Cause Principles Are Not Enough 1. Introduction Fogleman-Laxey v....
Qualified-Immunity Interlocutory Review Is Limited to Claims Actually Raised; Nonlethal Escalation to Extract a Barricaded, Resisting Suspect Is Objectively Reasonable I. Introduction In Cutshall v....
Qualified-Immunity Interlocutory Appeals Reach Only Claims Actually Raised Below Case: Cutshall v. Sandor Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: August 24, 2026...
Procedural Forfeiture Limits the Record on Appeal in § 922(g)(1) Second Amendment As-Applied Cases I. Introduction United States v. Luna (5th Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) arose from a federal indictment...
Rule 60(b) Relief After a Younger Dismissal: No “Prospective” Judgment, No “Extraordinary Circumstances,” and Frivolous Constitutional Attacks on Texas’s Vexatious-Litigant Regime 1. Introduction In...
Mandamus Requiring a § 1404(a) Eight-Factor Venue Analysis: Timeliness Cannot Be Treated as Dispositive Case: In re Media Matters for America; Eric Hananoki; Angelo Carusone, No. 25-10630 Court:...
Erroneous Rule 41(a)(2) Partial Dismissals Remain Final for Appeal; AWCPA § 120(a) Limits Only Architectural-Works Rights and Functions as an Affirmative Defense I. Introduction Kipp Flores...
Accuracy-Related Partnership Penalties Under § 6662 Are “Taxes” for AIA/DJA Jurisdiction-Stripping Purposes Case: Norcave Properties, L.L.C. v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 25-30542 (5th Cir. Aug....
Yan v. State of Texas: No Article III Case or Controversy Against an Adjudicating Judge; Claim-Splitting Dismissal; and Strict Pleading of Civil RICO Predicates and Continuity Court: United States...
Pleading “Context” and Clearly-Established Law to Defeat Qualified Immunity in Fifth Circuit Excessive-Force Cases Introduction Hughey v. Tippah County (5th Cir. Aug. 20, 2026) arises from an alleged...
§ 523(a)(6) Nondischargeability in the Fifth Circuit: “Objective Substantial Certainty of Harm” Suffices Without Subjective Intent to Injure Introduction Mahadevan v. Bikkina is a Fifth Circuit...
Threat of Custodial Arrest to Secure an Unannotated Signature on a Texas Traffic Citation Does Not, Without More, State a Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment § 1983 Claim I. Introduction In Soward v....