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US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions In Re: Travis Harris Docket: 19-51045 Opinion Date: February 25, 2021 Judge: Per Curiam Areas of Law: Criminal Law Movant seeks authorization to file a successive 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion challenging his conviction and sentence under 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A) for using and possessing a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence. Movant argues that his conviction should be vacated because the predicate offense for his conviction, arson in violation of 18 U.S.C. 844(i), qualified as a "crime of violence" only under the residual clause in section 924(c)(3)(B), which pursuant to United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319, 2325–26, 2336 (2019), is unconstitutionally vague. The Fifth Circuit concluded that movant has made a sufficient showing of possible merit to warrant a fuller exploration by the district court, and ordered that the motion be granted. Read Opinion
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United States v. DeJean Docket: 19-30865 Opinion Date: February 23, 2021 Judge: Stuart Kyle Duncan Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of mail fraud and making false statements to a bank. In this case, defendant, as justice of the peace, exploited his position to steal thousands of dollars in public funds, which he used for casino gambling. The court rejected defendant's challenge to the district court's decision to seat a juror who, defendant claims, was biased against gamblers. Rather, the court deferred to the district court's broad discretion in assessing the juror's impartiality. In this case, the juror's negative views about gambling implicate nothing like the kind of structural bias against all criminal defendants. Furthermore, the district court affirmatively found the juror's views on gambling (unlike other jurors who were dismissed for cause on that ground) would not prevent her from being impartial. Read Opinion US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Echeverry v. Jazz Casino Co., LLC Docket: 20-30038 Opinion Date: February 17, 2021 Judge: Leslie Southwick Areas of Law: Personal Injury The Fifth Circuit withdrew its prior opinion. After plaintiff was injured when a manlift struck her outside Harrah's Casino in New Orleans, a jury found Jazz Casino negligent, assigning it 49% of the fault. Plaintiff was awarded, among other jury awards, $1,000,000 for future pain and suffering. The Casino appealed. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the finding of negligence under a negligent hiring theory, operational control theory, and authorization of unsafe work practices theory presented to jurors. The court also held that none of the objected-to evidence was erroneously admitted at trial. However, the court held that the jury's $1,000,000 award for future pain, suffering, mental anguish, disability, scarring, and disfigurement was excessive. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's denial of the Casino's motion for judgment as a matter of law and motion for a new trial, vacated the award for future pain and suffering, and remanded for further proceedings. Read Opinion LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT EXTENDS JURY TRIAL MORATORIUM
THROUGH MARCH 31, 2021 www.lasc.org/Press_Release?p=2021-06 US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions Lefebure v. D'Aquilla Docket: 19-30702 Opinion Date: February 9, 2021 Judge: James C. Ho Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law Plaintiff filed suit alleging that Barrett Boeker, her cousin's husband, raped and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions at his home on the grounds of the Louisiana state prison where he serves as an assistant warden. Plaintiff also alleges that Samuel D'Aquilla, the district attorney, conspired with Boeker and others to prevent her from seeking justice for these crimes. The Fifth Circuit held that, under established precedent, it has no jurisdiction to reach plaintiff's claims against D’Aquilla, because she has no Article III standing. The court explained that Linda R.S. v. Richard D., 410 U.S. 614, 619 (1973), makes clear that "a citizen lacks standing to contest the policies of the prosecuting authority when he himself is neither prosecuted nor threatened with prosecution." Accordingly, the court has no choice but to reverse and remand with instructions to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction as to D'Aquilla. Read Opinion Governor Edwards extends Modified Phase-2 order for 3 more weeks
www.wwltv.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/3-pm-louisiana-covid-19-vaccine-update-from-gov-edwards/289-85903ebc-24a5-48c4-bd49-23fa9375bf51 United States v. Martinez Docket: 20-20148 Opinion Date: February 8, 2021 Judge: Jennifer Walker Elrod Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit withdrew its prior opinion and substituted the following opinion. The court vacated defendant's condition of supervised release requiring defendant to "participate in an inpatient or outpatient substance-abuse treatment program" supervised by defendant's probation officer. The court concluded that the option to require inpatient rehabilitation delegates to the probation officer the judicial decision to significantly restrict defendant's liberty during treatment. In this case, because of defendant's short ten-month sentence, the district court should not have delegated the decision to further restrict defendant's liberty during the course of treatment while on supervised release. Therefore, the court remanded for further proceedings. Read Opinion Louisiana Secures Multi-Million Dollar Settlement with McKinsey & Co for Its Role in Opioid Epidemic
www.houmatimes.com/news/ag-louisiana-secures-multi-million-dollar-settlement-with-mckinsey-co-for-its-role-in-opioid-epidemic/ United States v. Winters Docket: 20-30138 Opinion Date: February 3, 2021 Judge: Leslie Southwick Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision to reduce defendant's sentence under the First Step Act. The court held that defendant's dual-object conspiracy offense under 21 U.S.C. 846, which was committed before August 3, 2010, is a covered offense under Section 404(a) of the First Step Act. The court also held that the district court had statutory authority under Section 404 to reduce defendant's sentence from 233 months to 180 months. Finally, the court held that neither of Section 404(c)'s limitations apply. Therefore, defendant is eligible for relief under the First Step Act. Read Opinion Haddock v. Tarrant County Docket: 19-11327 Opinion Date: February 1, 2021 Judge: Edith Brown Clement Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law Plaintiff filed suit against seven district judges of Tarrant County's family law courts in their official capacities, District Judge Patricia Baca-Bennett in her personal capacity, and the County under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that she was fired for refusing to support a political candidate and for her husband's political activity. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit, holding that plaintiff was in a policymaking and confidential role and thus, under the Elrod/Branti exception, could constitutionally be discharged for the exercise of rights that would otherwise by protected by the First Amendment. The court also held that the district court correctly dismissed plaintiff's claims against the County because plaintiff failed to plead a constitutional violation. Furthermore, because Baca-Bennett did not violate plaintiff's constitutional rights, this is enough for Baca-Bennett to be entitled to qualified immunity. Even if plaintiff's rights had been violated, Baca-Bennett certainly did not have "fair warning that [her] conduct violate[d] a constitutional right." Read Opinion |
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