Short Circuit

A triad of important things in life are tweets, stateless vessels, and fonts. IJ attorneys Tatiana Pino and Patrick Jaicomo join your host Anthony Sanders to outline how a politician in the Eighth Circuit almost turned her Twitter account into a public forum, which would have prevented her from blocking anyone based on a viewpoint she disagrees with. Also, ever wanted to sail your own boat onto th...

Even though ex-President Trump is off of Twitter, his tweets are still abundant in federal legal filings. IJ Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes explains the First Amendment defenses (spoiler: he thinks there aren’t many) Rudy Giuliani might have to the new lawsuit filed against him by a Canadian voting machine company. But if that’s not international enough for you, IJ attorney Kirby Thomas West shares th...

When a judge asks you a question, it’s best to give an answer. We briefly discuss an oral argument that IJ Senior Attorney Rob Frommer had last week on South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, and listen to some non-answers his opposing counsel gave. Then it’s on to the Fifth Circuit where the court wrestles with a COVID-19 order shutting down Louisiana’s bars, and the Seventh Circuit where both th...

The Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause resurfaces in the Seventh Circuit, where the State of Indiana treated some newcomers differently from some long-time residents. Meanwhile, an Arkansas school district augments a consent decree from the days of school desegregation. But there’s a question of whether it did so for the right reasons. Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uplo...

How do you put together a campaign of litigation under various state constitutions across the country? And how to you get state courts to take their own constitutions seriously? On this special Short Circuit we explored these questions through the history of marriage equality litigation in state courts before the issue went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining host Anthony Sanders were Professors Le...

Is it time for the Supreme Court to spread some privileges or immunities cheer? Michael Bindas discusses a cert petition pending at SCOTUS on navigating the navigable waters, one of the few rights the Court has said the Privileges or Immunities Clause protects. He also tells us about a Ninth Circuit case on COVID orders and religious liberty. Meanwhile, Diana Simpson digs into a very deep dive of...

The first two items in the Bill of Rights get top billing. Does a nine-year-old felony conviction for tax fraud justify continuing to deny someone their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms? That’s something the Third Circuit addressed, with a spirited dissent. Patrick Jaicomo discusses this case about the Second in the Third. Meanwhile, the Fifth Circuit recognizes that new law has come t...

Class action expert Ted Frank joins to discuss a Ninth Circuit case where the court didn’t think giving class members crummy coupons warranted almost $15 million in attorneys fees. IJ Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes then gets some religion about land use and how the Alabama Constitution protects Buddhists in starting a meditation center. iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309...

Ever seen The Wire? Do you think those cops could have seriously used a team of drones taking photos of Stringer Bell for 12 hours a day? Turns out so does the city of Baltimore itself, whose drone surveillance program was reviewed (yet upheld) by the Fourth Circuit last week. Also, the team discusses what the Washington State Constitution has to do with privileges or immunities in the dairy indus...

What is with up with the torrent of election law cases coming out these days? IJ’s Diana Simpson and Anthony Sanders are here to give you the scoop. Actually, quite a few scoops, served up in the circuit courts of appeals the last few weeks, and even a couple Supreme Court cases, and a state supreme court case, thrown in. Cut down on just a smidgen of election confusion while time for that is runn...

We don’t recommend converting apartments into condos in San Francisco. But if you do, it might be hard to bring a takings claim, as we find out why from a recent denial of en banc review in the Ninth Circuit. Meanwhile, the question at the D.C. Circuit is whether butterflies mix with walls. Specifically, The Wall. Turns out, the National Butterfly Center is an open field, so the Fourth Amendment d...

On October 16, 2020 the Center for Judicial Engagement is hosting a special online event, our forum on judicial engagement and the Pennsylvania Constitution. Register today at the link below to join in the state constitutional fun! (Plus free CLE for PA bar members.) In the meantime, we discuss a few recent Pennsylvania cases as the warm-up act for the forum next week. Recent cases on economic lib...

For the fourth year in a row, the Institute for Justice has teamed up with the University of North Carolina Federalist Society Chapter to preview cases for the Supreme Court’s upcoming term. IJ’s Justin Pearson and Erica Smith join with UNC Professor Andy Hessick to share their wisdom on what’s interesting, and what may get even more interesting, in the months to come. iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/u...

In a special Short Circuit, Harvard Law Professor Molly Brady joins us to talk about an untold story from the rise of zoning law. A lot of the blame for our affordable housing crisis is often placed on the case Euclid v. Ambler Realty, where the Supreme court declared zoning (which includes prohibiting apartments) constitutional. But zoning was not the first try at limiting multifamily housing in...

Will former White House Counsel Don McGahn ever testify to the House Judiciary Committee? That partly depends on how you squint when reading the Declaratory Judgment Act. University of Texas law professor (and Twitter Laureate of federal jurisdiction) Steve Vladeck checks off the justiciability boxes and tells us it didn’t use to be so complicated. Meanwhile, cities continue to hate billboards, an...

Rejoining us after a very long break is Rob Johnson, who has some things to say about the Anti-Riot Act and a case finding part of it overbroad and unconstitutional. The case comes out of a prosecution of some racist rioters who attended a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017. Also, Rob Frommer tells us a tale about a woman who spent a decade in prison for a crime she did not commit, a...

Can a city hold on to your car for three years for no reason? Unfortunately, the Sixth Circuit seems to think the answer is “yes,” although over a fiery dissent. This week Wesley Hottot presents Nichols v. Wayne County and the team muses about the application of a case from 1978 and whether it even applies in Detroit anymore. Also, Paul Sherman takes us into campaign season with a campaign through...

What brings all lawyers together? Hatred of PACER. Some nonprofits challenged the fees the federal courts charge for accessing court filings on the electronic records system. And they won. Kind of. But this doesn’t mean you get to stop paying to see legal documents. This week Diana Simpson explains the history of accessing court documents via modem, where those fees go, and how the Federal Circuit...

Religious freedom v. anti-discrimination and a promise not to do bad things. iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shor…uit/id309062019 Spotify: podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCq…Ehed/overview Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/institut…ce/short-circuit Google: play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#…odkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to email us? shortcircuit@ij.org Tra...

Excessive home foreclosures and parking fines. iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shor…uit/id309062019 Spotify: podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCq…Ehed/overview Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/institut…ce/short-circuit Google: play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#…odkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to email us? shortcircuit@ij.org Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-con...

A police pizza raid and Fourth Amendment fireworks in the Fourth Circuit iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shor…uit/id309062019 Spotify: podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCq…Ehed/overview Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/institut…ce/short-circuit Google: play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#…odkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to email us? shortcircuit@ij.org Transcr...

End times at the sheriff's department and Euclidean policing. Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/short-circuit-140.pdf iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit Google: https://play.google.com...

A Week of Heavy Lifts: Closing Down Gyms in Michigan and a High-Profile Prosecution in DC. Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Short-Circuit-139_otter.ai-final.pdf iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/s...

A bunch of bad apples. Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Short-Circuit-138.pdf iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iz26kyzdcpodkfm5c...

Qualified Immunity and George Floyd iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Sticher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iz26kyzdcpodkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to ema...