The Latest Breaking News from Fifth Circuit

On June 18, 2021, I wrote, "We don't have a 6-3 Conservative Court. We have a 3-3-3 Court." I'm not sure if I was the first person to coin the phrase 3-3-3 Court, but I was one of the first. And I elaborated on this theme in a Newsweek column,…

Yesterday the Fifth Circuit held oral argument in an appeal of Judge Hanen's DACA decision. You can find a write-up of the oral argument by Mohar Chatterjee at Politico. One thing jumped out at me, and I will quote the relevant line from the Politico story (the transcript is not…

Fragile vessels, unlawful encouragement, and an unchastened district attorney.

On June 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated an administrative stay it had issued on June 9 of a federal district court’s ruling that struck down Louisiana’s congressional district boundaries. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also denied motions to stay the district court’s…

Interstate wine shipping, illegal traffic fines, and internet-ordained preachers.

A federal statute imposes liability for conspiracies "to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner" for the election of federal candidates, or for "injur[ing] any citizen in person or property on account of…

Well, at least from the U.S District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division.

The Supreme Court has just vacated the Fifth Circuit's stay of a district court's preliminary injunction against HB20, Texas's new social media law by a 5-4 vote. Justice Alito (joined by Justices Gorsuch and Thomas) wrote a dissent. (Justice Kagan also noted that she would deny the stay, but did…

Justices Thomas and Gorsuch join Justice Alito's dissent, and Justice Kagan disagreed with the majority without opinion. This is not a decision on the merits of the law, but Justice Alito's dissent notes why the answer to the merits question is "quite unclear."