Flares and Concurrences

The Coston Flare, the first technically and commercially viable maritime flare, was a universal attention-getting sign at sea for many years. Similarly, the “Rule of Orderliness Opinion” attracts en banc review in the Fifth Circuit; the most recent example being a January 17 panel dissent about circuit precedent on the viability of a patient’s implied right of action under the Medicaid Act, which led to a February 5 vote to take the issue en banc. In that spirit, yesterday’s 3-opinion panel resolution of Wittmer v. Phillips 66 Co.raises the question whether circuit precedent addresses Title VII’s applicability to discrimination based on sexual orientation. No. 18-20251 (Feb. 6, 2019).