Richard Taylor Rives
How Judge Rives rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Rives no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Rives
Richard Taylor Rives was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Appointed by President Harry S Truman, Judge Rives received a commission on May 3, 1951. Judge Rives assumed senior status on February 15, 1966 and was reassigned to another court on October 1, 1981.
How Judge Rives decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Treats a nonfinal transfer order as incapable of supporting claim preclusion, especially after an intervening change in controlling law.
“That the district court erred seems clear for either of two reasons: First, the order of transfer was not a final judgment, and the rules of res judicata apply only to final judgments;”
Requires statutory competency procedures to be followed instead of allowing a judge to resolve competency indirectly without a psychiatric examination.
“Under the statute, that is not permissible.”
Procedural preferences
Applies intervening controlling state law while a case remains pending on appeal.
“A change in the law between a nisi prius and an appellate decision requires the appellate court to apply the changed law.”
Treats appellate jurisdiction as a threshold statutory question and dismisses when the challenged act is not an appealable district-court order.
“No statute, however, gives this Court jurisdiction of an appeal from an order, whether interlocutory or final, of a magistrate in an extradition proceeding.”
Cautions
An exclusion must clearly remove coverage granted by the insuring clause; ambiguity is not enough.
“In our opinion, Exclusion (f) does not meet that test.”
In United States v. Montelongo, Rives reversed the convictions because defense counsel had no chance to investigate the prior narcotics-case jury service of twenty-seven prospective jurors before the panel was seated.
“We think that the district court erred in denying the motions to quash the jury panel without allowing counsel for the defendants any opportunity to develop the nature and extent of the prior jury service of the twenty-seven members of the panel who had had prior jury service in narcotics cases.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Finding no reversible error in the record, the judgment is affirmed.”
“The judgment of the district court is therefore reversed and the cause remanded with directions to dismiss the action for mootness.”
A historical record
Judge Rives no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.