5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that five New Orleans police officers are entitled to a new trial after being convicted of shooting six unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Frontline's Sarah Moughty and Sarah Childress report. The unarmed group of civilians was searching for food and medicine.

A new trial was granted because federal prosecutors violated the fair trial rights of the police officers by writing negative comments online about the police officers. The Fifth Circuit upheld that ruling.

Triple-digit heat indices on Louisiana State Penitentiary's death row do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled. The Times-Picayune's Emily Lane reports that the court did agree that extreme temperatures constituted cruel and unusual punishment for the three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit. However, the court ruled that air conditioning does not have to be provided to all of death row.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the Labor Department acted in bad faith when investigating an oil and gas servicing company for allegedly owing backpay to independent contractors, The Houston Chronicle's L.M. Sixel reports. As a result, Gate Guard Services will get more money from the government to pay its legal expenses.

Legal observers told Sixel the case will make it easier for others to bring bad-faith claims against the government.

The lead Department of Labor investigator destroyed evidence and demanded a multimillion-dollar penalty. A district judge ultimately ruled that the workers are independent contractors, not employees.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled earlier this month that British Petroleum has the right to appeal some damage claims awarded in the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, Reuters' Jonathan Stempel reports.

The circuit court found that the settlement agreement did not resolve claims itself, but established a mechanism for the trial court to resolve claims. As a result, BP can appeal claim determinations by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier.

Shortly after the U.S. Court of Appeals of Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in a case that upheld Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriages, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up that case, The Guardian's Amanda Holpuch reports. There are four other cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court that went through the Sixth Cicuit, which is the only federal circuit court to uphold bans on same-sex marriage so far.

Same-sex marriage bans in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi got a cool reception during oral arguments before the 5th Circuit yesterday, Bloomberg's Daniel Lawton and Andrew Harris reports. A Louisiana judge upheld that state's ban, while Texas and Mississippi judges rejected bans on same-sex marriage in their states. Having listened to a recording of the arguments involving Louisiana so far, the judges indeed were very skeptical of the government's arguments in favor of keeping that state's ban intact.

Andy Grim, a reporter for the Times-Picayune, reports that the Fifth Circuit appeared reluctant "to weigh in on the issue of First Amendment rights of anonymous online commenters" during oral argument on the issue Thursday. A lower court judge ordered the newspaper to turn over information about a pair of anonymous commenters on its website, Grim said. The defendant thought it could show that federal prosecutors were making comments about her case. A new trial was granted to five police officers convicted in post-Hurricane Katrina shootings.

Andy Grim, a reporter for the Times-Picayune, reports that the Fifth Circuit appeared reluctant "to weigh in on the issue of First Amendment rights of anonymous online commenters" during oral argument on the issue Thursday. A lower court judge ordered the newspaper to turn over information about a pair of anonymous commenters on its website, Grim said. The defendant thought it could show that federal prosecutors were making comments about her case. A new trial was granted to five police officers convicted in post-Hurricane Katrina shootings.

The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, rejected BP's argument that a court-appointed claims administrator has misconstrued the terms of a settlement, The Washington Post reports. BP further unsuccessfully argued that businesses claiming economic loss are receiving settlement money even when their injuries can't be traced to the Gulf oil spill, The Post further reports. The majority reasoned that BP agreed to a settlement in which plaintiffs wouldn't have to submit evidence that their claims arose as a result of the oil spill.

The Fifth Circuit has upheld the multibillion settlement of the claims of the residents and businesses impacted by BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, The Washington Post reports. BP had objected to the approval of the settlement by arguing "that U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier and court-appointed claims administrator Patrick Juneau have misinterpreted settlement terms in ways that would force the London-based oil giant to pay for billions of dollars in inflated or bogus claims by businesses," The Post further reports. BP argued that the class of claimants could have included people who didn't actually suffer any injury due to the oil spill.