Gohmert v. Pence (Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)

Gohmert v. Pence (2021)
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
3432297Gohmert v. Pence2021the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit


No. 21-40001


Louie Gohmert; Tyler Bowyer; Nancy Cottle; Jake Hoffman; Anthony Kern; James R. Lamon; Sam Moorhead; Robert Montgomery; Loraine Pellegrino; Greg Safsten; Kelli Ward; Michael Ward,

Plaintiffs—Appellants,

Marian Sheridan; Meshawn Maddock; Mari-Ann Henry; Amy Facchinello; Michele Lundgren,

Movants—Appellants,

versus

Michael R. Pence,

Defendant—Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas
USDC No. 6:20-CV-660


Before Higginbotham, Smith, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:[1]

This administrative panel is presented with an emergency motion for expedited appeal. We have appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. That includes jurisdiction to determine both our and the district court’s jurisdiction. We have the benefit of the briefing before the district court and its 13-page opinion styled Order of Dismissal, issued January 1, 2021. That order adopts the position of the Department of Justice, finding that the district court lacks jurisdiction because no plaintiff has the standing demanded by Article III. We need say no more, and we affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the district court. We express no view on the underlying merits or on what putative party, if any, might have standing. The motion to expedite is dismissed as moot. The mandate shall issue forthwith.


  1. Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

This work is in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices. Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials" as well as "any translation prepared by a government employee acting within the course of his or her official duties."

These do not include works of the Organization of American States, United Nations, or any of the UN specialized agencies. See Compendium III § 313.6(C)(2) and 17 U.S.C. 104(b)(5).

A non-American governmental edict may still be copyrighted outside the U.S. Similar to {{PD-in-USGov}}, the above U.S. Copyright Office Practice does not prevent U.S. states or localities from holding copyright abroad, depending on foreign copyright laws and regulations.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse