Justia U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

A Louisiana jury convicted Petitioner of second-degree murder. In this habeas proceeding, Petitioner contends that his trial counsel erred by failing to contact an eyewitness who would’ve supported his defense. He has twice been denied state postconviction relief. He sought federal habeas relief for a second time. The district court held the petition untimely and dismissed it with prejudice.   The Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded so that the district court can rule on the ineffective assistance of counsel claim in the first instance. The court explained that courts of appeals may reach an abandoned timeliness defense when the waiver or forfeiture results from a mistake—but not when the state’s decision to focus exclusively on the merits of the habeas claim is based on a deliberate judgment call. And that is especially so where timeliness is complex, but the merits are straightforward. But rather than decide the merits of Petitioner’s claim in the first instance, the court concluded that remanding the case back to the district court is appropriate. View "Ficher v. Bickham" on Justia Law

Defendant entered a guilty plea to assaulting, resisting, or impeding various officers or employees in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 111(a)(1) and (b). Defendant appealed the district court’s application of a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice, pursuant to U.S.S.G. Section 3C1.1 (U.S. Sent’g Comm’n 2018).   The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that a primary issue, in this case, is whether a court may apply Section 3C1.1 when a defendant obstructs another person’s arrest, which in this case is that of Defendant’s brother. The court wrote that when Defendant assaulted the agent, he violated Section 111 and triggered the base offense level in Section 2A2.4. Then, when Defendant physically prevented the agent from arresting another member of Defendant’s group, he obstructed the administration of justice in an offense that was closely related to his instant offense of conviction. In other words, there is a sufficient nexus between Defendant’s relevant conduct and his conviction for the assault of a federal officer. It is, therefore, plausible, in light of the record as a whole, for the district court to have found that Defendant’s conduct is properly categorized as an obstruction of justice under Section 3C1.1. View "USA v. Mendoza-Gomez" on Justia Law

Petitioner was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl, assaulting a 16-year-old girl with a hammer, and raping and murdering a 20-year-old woman. The present appeal involves only Petitioner’s conviction for raping the 17-year-old girl. Petitioner directly appealed his rape conviction in state court and almost succeeded in getting a new trial: The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. Petitioner next filed a habeas petition in federal district court, raising thirteen claims. The district court denied Petitioner’s petition but granted him a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on all thirteen claims. Petitioner timely appealed.   The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The court agreed with the district court that the state court could’ve reasonably found the Ake claim unpreserved. Petitioner’s trial counsel withdrew his Ake motion, so the trial court never ruled on it. Petitioner must thus show that every fair-minded jurist would conclude that this is the extraordinary instance where an unpreserved claim was stronger than the preserved claims and that appellate counsel’s failure to press the unpreserved Ake claim was tantamount to providing no appellate counsel at all. Here, Petitioner cannot come close to that showing.  Further, the court wrote that Petitioner cannot surmount AEDPA’s relitigation bar. Contrary to Petitioner’s suggestion, every fair-minded jurist would not think that the absence of an expert for an insanity defense is per se error. Finally, the court held that law and justice do not compel issuance of the writ in the absence of factual innocence, and Petitioner can’t make the required showing. View "Crawford v. Cain" on Justia Law

Petitioner, Mississippi prisoner # 145868, was arrested on December 21, 2006. Eight months later, he was indicted by a grand jury on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In January 2009, he was tried in state court, and a jury found him guilty on both counts. Sentenced as a habitual offender, he received two concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole. Petitioner unsuccessfully pursued post-conviction relief in state court. After exhausting state-court review, Petitioner filed a federal habeas petition, which the district court granted. The State appealed that ruling.   The Fifth Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court and rendered judgment in favor of the State on Petitioner’s petition for federal habeas relief. The court considered Petitioner’s federal habeas claims that his conviction violated his right to a speedy trial and that his public defenders provided ineffective assistance of counsel. While two state courts rejected these claims, the federal district court disagreed and held that relief was warranted. The court held that the lack of deference to the state court’s determination constituted “an improper intervention in state criminal processes,” such that the district court erred in granting Petitioner’s habeas application on the speedy-trial issue. View "Russell v. Denmark" on Justia Law

Plaintiff was detained beyond the expiration of his sentence because Department officials gave him credit for time served in pre-trial detention but only for one (rather than both) of his two consecutive sentences. That was the right thing to do under the law, then in effect. But Plaintiff was entitled to the more generous provision in effect at the time his sentence was entered. As a result, he served over a year longer than he should have. After his release, Plaintiff brought suit against various Louisiana officials under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, among other claims. This appeal concerns only one of those claims: Plaintiff’s claim against the head of the Department, Secretary James LeBlanc (“Defendant”). Defendant appealed the denial of qualified immunity, arguing that his conduct wasn’t objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law.   The Fifth Circuit reversed. The court explained that while the right to timely release is clearly established, Plaintiff does not show how Defendant’s conduct was objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law. Plaintiff contends that Defendant was objectively unreasonable because he failed to assign the task of calculating release dates to an attorney. But nothing in the Constitution requires that such actions be undertaken by a member of the bar. View "Taylor v. LeBlanc" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted by a jury on five counts arising from a series of armed robberies of cell phone stores. He appealed his convictions and sentence. Defendant contends that he suffered a Speedy Trial Act violation because he was indicted more than thirty days after his arrest.   The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that Defendant does not dispute that the continuance satisfies the statutory language for exclusion. He contends instead that the extended time should nonetheless not be excluded because his counsel did not consult with him before filing the motion to continue. The court explained that this contention runs counter to the statutory text of the Speedy Trial Act, which expressly carves out delays resulting from continuances sought “at the request of the defendant or his counsel.” The text does not require that counsel obtain her client’s consent to seek a continuance.   Defendant also argued that the district court erred in its jury instructions on his Section 924(c) charges. He contends that the court erroneously defined the predicate offense, a “crime of violence,” as including attempted Hobbs Act robbery. The court held that because Defendant has not shown that his substantial rights were affected by the erroneous jury instruction, he fails plain-error review. Even if the error affected his substantial rights, the court would not exercise its discretion to correct the error because the error here did not seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the proceeding. View "USA v. Robinson" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after law enforcement officers discovered a gun in his jacket during a warrantless search. The sole question on appeal is whether, by tossing his jacket over a fence onto his mother’s property, Defendant forfeited his property or privacy interest in the jacket, thereby freeing officers to seize and search the jacket heedless of Fourth Amendment constraints.   The Fifth Circuit vacated Defendant’s conviction and sentence, as well as the denial of his motion to suppress, and remanded. The court held that Defendant did not abandon his jacket by tossing it over his mother’s fence because he did not thereby manifest an intent to discard it. The Government elected to rely exclusively on its abandonment theory, expressly waiving alternative grounds for affirmance at oral argument. The court explained that the district court relied on Colbert to conclude that Defendant abandoned his jacket, and therefore retained no reasonable expectation of privacy in its contents, by tossing it over his mother’s fence. But the court explained that it does not think it can fairly be said that Ramirez manifested an intent to disclaim ownership in his jacket simply by placing it on the private side of his mother’s fenced-in property line. View "USA v. Ramirez" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after law enforcement officers discovered a gun in his jacket during a warrantless search. The sole question on appeal is whether, by tossing his jacket over a fence onto his mother’s property, Defendant forfeited his property or privacy interest in the jacket, thereby freeing officers to seize and search the jacket heedless of Fourth Amendment constraints.   The Fifth Circuit vacated Defendant’s s conviction and sentence, as well as the denial of his motion to suppress, and remanded. The court held that Defendant did not abandon his jacket by tossing it over his mother’s fence because he did not thereby manifest an intent to discard it. Further, the court wrote that he put it for safekeeping where he knew he could find it again and where he could trust that strangers—if acting lawfully—would be unable to get at it. And so, Defendant’s jacket enjoyed Fourth Amendment protection under Jones’s property-rights formulation too. The Government elected to rely exclusively on its abandonment theory, expressly waiving alternative grounds for affirmance at oral argument. View "USA v. Ramirez" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, moved for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and a change of venue for his tax appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.   The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The court explained that the United States Courts of Appeals have exclusive jurisdiction to review decisions of the Tax Court. 26 U.S.C. Section 7482(a)(1). As such, absent certification under 28 U.S.C. Section 1292(b) or a separate Rule 54(b) type order, an order disposing of fewer than all parties or claims in an action is unappealable, subject to exceptions not applicable here, as is the case here. Since no certification under Section 1292(b) or a separate Rule 54(b) type order exists, and Petitioner’s pleading is still pending before the Tax Court, the court held that it lacks jurisdiction over this appeal. View "Pejouhesh v. CIR" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. As part of Defendant’s sentence, and over his objection, the district court ordered Defendant to pay $5,000 in restitution to Parks Food Mart, the store he robbed. Defendant appealed this order of restitution on two grounds: first, that the district court erred in imposing restitution to a business entity and second, that the district court erred by ordering restitution in the amount of $5,000.   The Fifth Circuit affirmed but modified the amount of restitution to $3,500. The court explained that MVRA directs the district court to “reimburse the victim for lost income . . . and other expenses incurred during participation in the investigation or prosecution of the offense.” Here, Parks Food Mart was closed for approximately 6 hours on a Monday, from 6:15 p.m. to midnight, as law enforcement investigated the robbery. In the original PSR, the probation officer reported only that the business had suffered “$4,000 from missed earnings while being closed for investigation.” The court explained that it understands that sales are variable and there may have been reason for Parks Food Mart, in stating that the store closure resulted in $4,000 in lost earnings, to expect sales on the higher end the day of the robbery. At the same time, however, the court recognized that the store closure only impacted part of the day. Given these competing tensions and the lack of any other documentation as to the store’s losses, the court found the $3,500 figure to be a better-supported estimate of lost sales. View "USA v. Richardson" on Justia Law