In this episode, we discussed a recent case U.S. v. Seekins, in which the federal public defender attempted to push the Fifth Circuit to revisit the scope of interstate commerce in the criminal justice context. By a close vote (7-9), the Fifth

"Oops.", says Justice Willett.

Jun 29th, 2022 38m 3s

In Shepperd v. United States, an attorney represented his client, the criminal defendant, and also the government's key witness at the same time. Two weeks before trial, this conflict of interest was finally made known to the defendant, who imm

"May I search your phone, with good faith?"

May 13th, 2022 38m 34s

Can a police officer search a criminal suspect's cell phone in full, when the only charge in the warrant was drug possession, and the affidavit provided barebone justification? This is the question the Fifth Circuit was presented in U.S. v. Mor

"Do I need to listen to the Supreme Court?" The Fifth Circuit Has Doubts.

Mar 14th, 2022 28m 45s

When the U.S. Supreme Court remands a case back to a circuit court, how much room does the circuit court have to "play around"? The Fifth Circuit's response is "a lot". The U.S. Supreme Court remanded the SB8 case back to the Fifth Circuit and

A Retirement and A Resignation

Jan 31st, 2022 29m 47s

In this episode, we talked about Justice Breyer's retirement and Justice Gregg Costa's unexpected resignation from the Fifth Circuit. Justice Breyer's retirement announcement proposes an opportunity to the Biden administration and the replaceme

COVID-19 is not that big of a deal, according to the Fifth Circuit

Nov 21st, 2021 37m 10s

On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which required employers who have more than 100 employees to mandate vaccination for their employees. A variety of plain

Abortion, Standing, and the "Audition" for the Supreme Court

Oct 30th, 2021 42m

In this episode, we talked about the Fifth Circuit's rulings on Texas's controversial legislation, the SB8. SB8 makes every woman who seeks abortion "sui-able" by any private citizen for damages over 10,000, and attorneys' fees. The Fifth Circu

A Constitutional Crisis, or a Classic Lawyer's Drama?

Aug 9th, 2021 52m 56s

Several attorneys filed lawsuits against the State Bar of Texas and the State Bar of Louisiana, alleging that some bar activities are overly political and ideological, which violated their First Amendment rights. The challenged bar activities

The Federal Sentencing Guideline: a Non-Mandatory Dilemma

May 9th, 2021 1h 7m

In this episode, we are going to review five recent Fifth Circuit Cases regarding the federal sentencing guideline. These cases address issues that frequently occur at the sentencing phase and at appeals, such as relevant conduct, plain error r

Big changes in FLSA, and another sad story about the death penalty

Mar 18th, 2021 52m 2s

In this episode, we are going to cover six recently issued public opinions. Three of them are from the court's civil docket, and they are regarding the Court's new jurisprudence on employment and labor law and the federal civil procedure. The t

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