https://texasappeals.org/topics/ordinary-meaning/Clinical descriptions of the Texas appellate decisions drawing the most press coverage.Hugo -- gohugo.ioen-usMon, 23 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2026/02/buenrostro-mendez-v-bondi-bond-hearings/Mon, 23 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0600https://texasappeals.org/2026/02/buenrostro-mendez-v-bondi-bond-hearings/The court held that noncitizens present in the United States without having been admitted are “applicants for admission” who are “seeking admission” under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), and so must be detained without bond eligibility while removal proceedings are pending. It reversed two Southern District of Texas orders granting bond hearings. Judge Douglas dissented.https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/wmm-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-panel/Mon, 22 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/09/wmm-v-trump-alien-enemies-act-panel/A divided panel held that the President’s fact-findings under the 1798 Act are unreviewable but the statutory labels attached to them are not, and that the findings in Proclamation No. 10903 do not describe an invasion or predatory incursion. Two judges concluded that, on the current record, the Government’s updated seven-day notice satisfies due process; the court remanded for evidence on a sufficient timeframe.https://texasappeals.org/2025/03/bondi-v-vanderstok-ghost-gun-rule/Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:00:00 -0500https://texasappeals.org/2025/03/bondi-v-vanderstok-ghost-gun-rule/Reviewing a Fifth Circuit judgment in a suit filed in the Northern District of Texas, the Court held that the Gun Control Act reaches at least some weapon parts kits and at least some partially complete frames or receivers, so the challenged provisions of ATF’s 2022 rule are not facially invalid. The Court did not decide whether the rule may lawfully be applied to any particular product.