Swear on the Stand

This episode discusses a case from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  outlining the reversal of a lower court's decision to dismiss an indictment against  James Wesley Burger . The defendant was charged with making  interstate threats  after posting violent statements about "martyrdom" and attacking a Christian concert while using the online platform  Roblox ....

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding the sentencing of  Nautica Blu Hamilton , a daycare worker convicted of producing child pornography. During the initial proceedings, the prosecution made controversial remarks suggesting a  maximum sentence  was necessary to prevent the defendant from ever having her own children and cited  societal assumptions  about femal...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision affirming the conviction of Elijah Porter for possessing a  machinegun . The court rejected Porter’s  Fourth Amendment  challenges, ruling that the use of  automated license plate readers  to locate his vehicle did not require a warrant because motorists have no expectation of privacy on public roads. Additionally, the judges upheld...

This episode from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  details the affirmation of a district court's decision to deny  Jesus Eloy Garcia’s  motion to suppress evidence. Garcia challenged the legality of an  investigatory stop  conducted by the  Laredo Police Department , arguing that officers lacked the  reasonable suspicion  required to detain him. The court determined the stop was lawful bec...

This episode presents a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision affirming the sentence of  Nestor Villafana-Mondragon , specifically regarding his  supervised-release conditions . The defendant argued that the trial court failed to properly  pronounce these conditions  by not explicitly verifying that he had reviewed the  Presentence Investigation Report (PSR)  with his attorney. However, the ma...

This episode discusses a judicial opinion from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  addressing a dispute over  litigation costs  following a lawsuit against  Southern Methodist University  regarding student-athlete injuries. The court affirmed that the university was the  prevailing party  because it successfully dismissed the claims of eight out of nine plaintiffs based on a  statute of limitatio...

This episode discusses a  federal appellate court opinion  concerning a lawsuit filed by Priscilla Tryon Cambric against the  City of Corpus Christi . The plaintiff alleged that the city practiced  selective enforcement  of building codes by targeting her historic property for demolition while sparing others. The  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  ultimately affirmed the lower court's dismissal...

This episode discusses judicial opinion from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  addressing legal challenges to the  Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)  rejection of state air quality plans for  Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi . The central conflict involves the  "Good Neighbor Provision"  of the  Clean Air Act , which requires states to prevent emission...

In the case of  United States v. Lanaute , the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  affirmed a defendant's  enhanced sentence  for bank robbery. The legal dispute centered on whether  Louisiana’s armed robbery statute  qualifies as a  "crime of violence"  under federal  Sentencing Guidelines . The defendant argued that because the state law only requires  general intent , the crime could...

This episode discusses a  published order  from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding a labor dispute over  overtime compensation . An employee sued  Alliance Liftboats, LLC , alleging the company  misclassified workers  as exempt seamen to avoid paying overtime under the  Fair Labor Standards Act . After a district court  certified a collective action  for various c...

This episode discusses a  2025 performance audit  by the  Louisiana Legislative Auditor  evaluating the medical care and general treatment of  incarcerated women  within state and local facilities. The report reveals that  local jails , which house the vast majority of this population, often lack the written procedures necessary to comply with  state laws . Key findings highlight significant defic...

This episode outlines a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding the criminal conviction and sentencing of  Heriberto Mendez-Lozano , who was involved in a  violent hostage-taking and alien-smuggling operation . After a jury found him guilty on thirteen counts, the defendant challenged his  460-month prison sentence  and attempted to dispute his underlying conviction. The majority opini...

This episode outlines a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding a labor dispute originally dismissed due to a  procedural oversight . The plaintiff’s case was initially terminated because his attorney failed to appoint  local counsel  within the required timeframe, a mistake the lawyer attributed to a  calendaring error . Although the plaintiff sought to reopen the case by citing  excu...

This episode details a case from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  affirming that a bankruptcy court has the  subject-matter jurisdiction  to resolve state-law property disputes when they are central to an  administrative expense claim . The case originated when the  MSB Owners  alleged that  EP Energy  triggered an automatic termination of their oil and gas leases by paus...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  ruling regarding a teacher’s lawsuit against her principal over  religious expression  at school. The plaintiff, Staci Barber, alleges that Principal Bryan Scott Rounds violated her  First Amendment  rights by imposing a broad ban on any prayer conducted where students might see her. While the principal claimed  qualified immunity , the court...

This episode discusses a case from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  addressing a discovery dispute in the long-standing capital murder case of  Carlos Ayestas . The court examines whether it has  jurisdiction  to review a magistrate judge's order requiring the  Harris County District Attorney’s Office  to release decades of sensitive prosecutorial records. Central to the appeal is the disc...

This episode discusses an opinion from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  detailing a whistleblower lawsuit brought by  Maria Ferguson  against  Lockheed Martin  under the  False Claims Act . Ferguson, a former internal auditor, alleged that the defense contractor knowingly used  fraudulently inflated subcontractor labor costs  to overcharge the government on several military aircraft programs....

This episode discusses a  formal opinion  from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding a lawsuit involving  William T. Savage, Sr.  and  LaSalle Management Company . The court chose to  affirm a lower court’s decision  to exclude all of the plaintiff's evidence and  dismiss the case with prejudice  due to a persistent  failure to prosecute . Over a four-year period...

This episode is from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding an appeal filed by  Juan Jose Ponce . The case centers on Ponce’s conviction for  illegally transporting an undocumented person  after a border patrol agent discovered a woman hidden inside a  speaker box  in his SUV. Ponce challenged the  legality of the search , arguing that his  Fourth Amendment rights  we...

This episode details an opinion from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding a class-action lawsuit against  United Airlines  over its  COVID-19 vaccine mandate . Several employees alleged the airline failed to provide  religious and medical accommodations , effectively forcing them into unpaid leave or punitive masking protocols. The court  affirmed  a lower court&#39...

This  episode details a judge’s decision to  deny a plaintiff’s request  for a new trial or a reversed judgment following a jury’s defense verdict. The case originated from  a defendant's arrest  for a hit-and-run, which he argued was conducted without  probable cause  and based on a deputy’s  reckless or false affidavit . However, the court determined that the  jury had a sufficient evidentia...

This episode discusses a  federal appellate court opinion  affirming the criminal convictions of  Miguel Angel Delgado, Jr. , a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The court determined that there was  sufficient evidence  to prove Delgado  violated the civil rights  of two individuals through the use of  excessive force  during separate border encounters. The records detail how Delg...

This episode discusses a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision for the affirmation of  Andrew Ducksworth’s  conviction for being a  felon in possession of a firearm . The court rejected Ducksworth’s argument that his  Fourth Amendment  rights were violated during a traffic stop, ruling that the officer had  reasonable suspicion  to conduct a protective pat-down. This suspicion was based on the...

This espiode discusses an opinion from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  addressing whether a defendant must knowingly transport an  unaccompanied minor  to receive a harsher sentence for  human smuggling . The appellant,  Luis Francisco Corona-Montano , challenged a specific  sentencing enhancement  by arguing he was unaware that one of his passengers was a child traveling alone. However, the...

This episode details a ruling from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upholds the  FDA’s  regulatory framework for electronic nicotine delivery systems. Several  small-business manufacturers  challenged the  Final PMTA Rule , arguing that the agency failed to properly assess the economic burden on minor entities as required by the  Regulatory Flexibility Act . The court determined that the ...