Reported / Citable
Background
Two consolidated cases arose from the Western District of Texas. In one, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice, L.L.C. sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In the other, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, M.F. through her next friend Vanessa Fernandez, Ampersand Group, L.L.C., and Brandon Closson sued Paxton.
A Fifth Circuit panel issued an opinion on July 24, 2026, reported at 184 F.4th 420. A petition for rehearing en banc followed, and a member of the court requested a poll on whether the full court should rehear the consolidated cases.
The Court’s Holding
A majority of the circuit judges in regular active service who were not disqualified voted to rehear the cases en banc. The Fifth Circuit therefore granted rehearing en banc and ordered that oral argument be held on a date to be fixed later.
Under Fifth Circuit Rule 41.3, the court vacated the July 24, 2026 panel opinion. The clerk was directed to establish a schedule for supplemental briefing. The order did not decide the underlying merits of the parties’ claims.
Key Takeaways
- The Fifth Circuit will rehear the consolidated cases en banc.
- The panel opinion dated July 24, 2026, has been vacated and no longer represents the court’s operative decision.
- Supplemental briefing and en banc oral argument will occur on schedules to be set by the clerk and the court.
Why It Matters
The en banc grant reopens the appellate dispute before the full active court and removes the panel opinion as controlling Fifth Circuit precedent. Any definitive resolution of the underlying legal issues must await the en banc court’s later decision.