5th Circuit Court

804 ABA Journal 5th Circuit Court articles.

5th Circuit finds no undue burden in law curbing liability protection for abortion providers

A federal appeals court has upheld a Louisiana law that removed liability protections for abortion providers. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that the 1997 law is not an undue burden on women’s right to abortion, according to an ABA media alert. The appeals…

Sep 6, 2013 2:59 PM CDT

Objecting to secret recording of attorney-client meetings got him fired, says sheriff’s deputy

A former chief deputy for a suburban New Orleans sheriff says he was fired for objecting to secret videotapes that routinely recorded conversations during attorney-client meetings in a sheriff’s office interview room. Tregg Wilson, who is a licensed attorney in Louisiana, makes the allegation in a federal lawsuit he filed…

Aug 30, 2013 1:15 PM CDT

Ex-judge gets 6 years in bribe case as ex-DA awaits sentencing; murder victim’s mom gets no apology

A former South Texas judge who admittedly took bribes, then served as a star witness at the trial of a former district attorney and other lawyers after pleading guilty in 2011 to a single federal racketeering count, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison. In addition to serving…

Aug 27, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Fortune-teller accused of bilking $17M from best-selling romance novelist

Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in the criminal trial of a claimed psychic who is facing a 35-count indictment over fortune-telling activities that allegedly fleeced a best-selling romance novelist of $17 million over a 20-year period. While fortune-telling, in and of itself, is not illegal, federal prosecutors contend…

Aug 26, 2013 4:12 PM CDT

Federal judge nixes investor suit against SEC for not warning SIPC of $7B fraud by Allen Stanford

After initially giving the green light to a lawsuit that said securities regulators for years failed to warn investors of what they believed to be a massive fraud by former billionaire R. Allen Stanford, a federal judge in Florida has dismissed the case. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola said plaintiffs…

Aug 13, 2013 5:24 PM CDT

Lawyer faces health-fraud charges over claimed $12M insurance scheme

A Texas lawyer has been federally indicted after allegedly siphoning $12 million from insurance plan administrators and their clients, in a Ponzi-like scheme, through his operation of a reinsurance business. Hugh Lappe Scott Jr., 62, faces 22 health-fraud counts and 20 counts of theft from a health care benefit program.…

Aug 13, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

SEC has power to regulate Bitcoin investments, federal judge rules

Rejecting an argument by a Texas defendant that Bitcoin investments are not within the regulatory purview of the U.S. Securities Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal magistrate judge has given a green light to a SEC civil suit against Trendon Shavers. The Bitcoin Savings & Trust operator had contended that…

Aug 7, 2013 9:45 PM CDT

Trial begins for final lawyer charged in judicial bribery scheme; convicted ex-judge is star witness

A convicted former South Texas judge testified Wednesday in federal court against an Austin attorney accused of participating in a “cash for court favors” scheme. Eduardo “Eddie” Lucio, who is charged with extortion and racketeering, is the 12th defendant in the case to have his day in court. His case…

Aug 7, 2013 3:55 PM CDT

No warrant is needed for records showing general location of prior cellphone calls, 5th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government doesn’t need a warrant to obtain historical data showing the general location of cellphone calls. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a provision of the Stored Communications Act that allows the government to…

Aug 1, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

Chief Justice Roberts assigns DC Circuit to review complaint against 5th Circuit judge

The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court has put the wheels in motion for a review of a complaint concerning a federal appeals court judge. The June 12 letter from Chief Justice John Roberts does not name the judge or describe the complaint, but says the transfer was made…

Jun 13, 2013 4:40 PM CDT

5th Circuit parses runny-egg rule, issues sunny-side-up decision for nursing home

A Texas nursing home sizzling over severe penalties imposed after a state inspection found two residents had been served unpasteurized eggs that were inadequately cooked has presumably simmered down after the latest chapter in the runny-egg saga. Reversing an administrative law judge and the U.S. Department of Health and Human…

May 28, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

Ex-DA takes stand at federal racketeering enterprise trial, cites prosecutorial discretion

A former Texas district attorney is expected to continue testifying Thursday in his federal trial over allegedly operating the DA’s office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. However, ex-Cameron County DA Armando R. Villalobos already laid out his defense in testimony Wednesday—prosecutorial discretion, the Valley Morning Star reports. Contradicting testimony by…

May 23, 2013 5:10 PM CDT

Inmate indicted in claimed murder-for-hire plot against federal judge

Phillip Monroe Ballard still hasn’t been tried on the federal charges he faces for allegedly holding himself out as a lawyer and advising others that they don’t have to pay income tax. But on the front burner, it appears, is the murder-solicitation prosecution the Texas inmate is facing for allegedly…

May 15, 2013 10:40 PM CDT

Trial begins for ex-DA accused in cash-for-court-favors case; convicted ex-judge is first witness

A convicted former judge, Abel Limas, was the first witness Monday as a trial began for a former Texas district attorney accused in a nine-count federal indictment of running the prosecutor’s office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. Limas testified that he once considered himself a father figure, mentor and friend…

May 13, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

Elvis impersonator dismissed from ricin case over letters to Obama, lawmaker and judge

All charges were dropped Tuesday in a federal case over suspected ricin-laced letters reportedly sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator from Mississippi and a state-court judge. As the day began, a preliminary hearing against defendant Paul Kevin Curtis was continuing. Then he was released from custody and the…

Apr 23, 2013 10:42 PM CDT

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