Episodes

City council meetings are usually sparsely attended, low key, unwatched affairs. Except when they’re not. This week we have two cases where those in power were so offended by what members of the public had to say at a meeting that they were later arrested, in violation of their right to free speech under the First Amendment. Or that’s what the plaintiffs claim, anyway. First, Katrin Marquez of IJ tells us of a meeting in Texas of a “court” that wasn’t exactly a court but really a county board. H...

Seasons greetings from Short Circuit! While you’re enjoying your holiday week at the end of 2024 we’re giving you the content you need: Christmas sweaters. Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of legal stuff, but we start things off by delving into the mystery of where the Christmas sweater phenomenon came from. (Your host suspects it has something to do with Bridget Jones’s Diary the movie—but not, interestingly, the book.) If you’re on a non-YouTube platform, to give the episode full justice you ...

IJ’s Anya Bidwell guest hosts this special episode to ask what states and local governments can do to better protect their citizens’ rights, particularly when it comes to achieving justice in the courts. Professor Joanna Schwartz of UCLA and Kasia Symborski Wolfkot of the Brennan Center join Anya to dig into how a variety of laws and practices outside of Washington, D.C affect our rights. They discuss state legislative reform of causes of action and qualified immunity, the changing nature of sta...

We start with a case that ticks a lot of Short Circuit boxes: eliminating governmental immunities, state constitutions, preliminary injunctions, conniving public officials, mootness, and en banc news. So what happened there? Nothing. At least for now. Beyond the Brief’s (and IJ’s) Keith Neely details a long journey a group is having to take to get a state constitutional amendment on Ohio’s ballot. Ohio’s Attorney General has had a lot of problems with their paperwork. So many problems that, as K...

Notable—and quotable—Chicago lawyer Patrick Eckler joins us for a crash-course in Seventh Circuit paranoia (if you’re paranoid about jurisdictional questions at oral argument—which you really should be). A co-host of the Podium and Panel Podcast, Patrick gives a primer on how federal appellate judges look at things The Chicago Way and then explains how a recent oral argument went off the rails quite quickly. The resulting opinion about the Federal Arbitration Act and how it relates to Amtrak was...

We go online for some First Amendment content this week. First, IJ’s Jeff Redfern explains how the Eleventh Circuit concluded that CNN might be liable for defamation after one of its commentators said Project Veritas had been suspended from Twitter for “misinformation” when it had, in fact, very truthfully doxxed someone. That seems to pass the high bar of “actual malice” under the First Amendment’s free speech protections. Then Tahmineh Dehbozorgi of IJ brings us up to the Third Circuit where S...

A couple friends drop by this week who have overstayed their welcome: Rooker and Feldman. Together they make up the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, a weed that has grown to crowd out justiciable federal claims in the federal courts. But the good news is that they aren’t the only friends on this week. We also have Wisconsin appellate attorney Joseph Diedrich who shares the story of his massive Seventh Circuit case which went en banc and Rooker-Feldman and now might go to the Supreme Court. Joe details t...

Can the U.S. government use civil forfeiture in a U.S. court to take property in another country? One of IJ’s directors of our National Initiative to End Forfeiture Abuse, Dan Alban, reports on a rare forfeiture loss for the federal government when it tried to forfeit money in a bank account in the principality of Liechtenstein. The Ninth Circuit thought that was a bridge too far, although the various judges disagreed with each other on why. Then IJ’s Matt Liles updates us on the latest on Secon...

Did you know that you can be arrested for walking on the wrong side of the road? Neither did a Missouri police officer. Until he needed an excuse to put someone in handcuffs. Marie Miller of IJ details her recent victory at the Supreme Court—in a relatively terse, 20-word opinion—on behalf of her road-walking client after he lost at the Eighth Circuit, and how the First-Amendment-retaliation victory depended on an IJ case from last term, Gonzalez v. Trevino. Then IJ’s Anya Bidwell—who had someth...

Is a “fine” a “fine”? No, not at all, and therefore it can’t be “excessive.” At least that’s the IRS’s position. Thankfully that argument was rejected in a recent Eleventh Circuit case about a taxpayer who failed to file some forms and was subsequently fined—yes, fined—millions of dollars. IJ’s Sam Gedge explains this story and what fines the court thought were excessive and were not. We also look at the Ninth Circuit and an odd rule (that only exists there) which turns dicta into law. Jacob Har...

With less than two weeks before America’s general election it’s time for our biennial dive into election law! A whirlwind tour of election decisions from the federal courts of appeals with a wide-ranging look at the legal disputes that arise before (and while) Americans cast their ballots. To guide us through the process we called upon Minnesota (and North Dakota) election law practitioner David Asp. He tells us what it’s like practicing in this “seasonal” specialty and what opportunities there ...

When it comes to the law, it’s the responsibility of the government. After all, that’s why we have a government, right? Well, it seems the government is responsible for enforcing the law . . . until it would rather not. This week we have a pair of cases where different governments have wriggled out of their enforcement responsibilities in an effort to avoid a lawsuit. And in each case it worked. First, Erica Smith Ewing of IJ tells us of a rarity in the federal courts of appeals: A Contracts Cla...

For the 8th year in a row Short Circuit travels to the University of North Carolina to preview the Supreme Court’s new term, hosted by our friends at the school’s Federalist Society chapter. IJ’s Justin Pearson serves as your host, and joining him once again, as he has for many years now, is UNC professor Andrew Hessick. They’re joined by IJ attorney Ben Field. First they educate us with a little trivia about cases that we’ll see this term and then dig in with a deeper preview of a couple matter...

“Twelve” isn’t just another word for a dozen or the original number of Apostles. It’s how many jurors sit on a criminal jury. Well, except in some cases. And one of those cases, from the Second Circuit, IJ’s Bob McNamara details to us this week. A New York man was prosecuted for making death threats to various broadcasters and politicians. Along the way the jury whittled down to 11 members. Which then found the defendant guilty. The Second Circuit said it’s all fine because it seemed clear the g...

“Effects” isn’t a word that most people associate with “my stuff” these days. But that’s what it means in the Fourth Amendment. Our “effects” are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures just as much as “person, houses” and “papers.” Unfortunately, the D.C. police don’t agree and have been seizing people’s phones and other items and not giving them back even when they have no intention of prosecuting the property owners. Well, that may be changing because the D.C. Circuit recently issue...

Economic liberty is in poll position. Or at least it won an early round victory in North Carolina. IJ attorney, and North Carolinian, Josh Windham reports on a recent ruling of the North Carolina Supreme Court about a racing track and the right to earn a living. Josh brings his knowledge of state constitutions and litigation tactics to tell this tale that began in the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also has a sovereign immunity angle that fans of IJ’s Project on Immunity and Accountabili...

A special edition of Short Circuit Live where the Institute for Justice teamed up with the Texas Observer for a conversation about how local governments increasingly are retaliating against those who call them to account. The event took place in Austin, Texas on September 4, 2024, and was subtitled “Picking the man and then searching the lawbooks: How local governments turn to their criminal codes to silence critics.” It brought together the Observer’s Gus Bova, IJ’s Anya Bidwell, Texas journali...

An extremely sad case, especially for man’s best friend (dog-lover discretion is advised!), and a happy case for property rights. First, the Center for Judicial Engagement’s new Assistant Director, John Wrench, brings us the latest in wild Fifth Circuit qualified-immunity stories with a domestic disturbance check gone bad—so bad that an officer is alleged to have shot two non-threatening dogs. A silver lining is that the grant of qualified immunity was reversed on appeal. Then Betsy Sanz hops ab...

Part of the job description of a journalist is talk to public officials, gather information, and report on it. Unfortunately, that seems to be a crime in Texas. An unconstitutional crime, to be sure, but enough of a crime that the Fifth Circuit said there was qualified immunity for officers who arrested a citizen journalist for asking question of a source within a police department and reporting what she heard. JT Morris of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) joins us to d...

One reason we have a Fourth Amendment is to be free from general warrants, permission slips for the government to search, well, everything. Is that what newfangled “geofence warrants” are? The Fifth Circuit thinks so, which is why it found one to be unconstitutional. Your host brings you the tale of a postal heist where the bandits were only found through a search of Google accounts—592 million of them. But was it a “search” in the first place? We hack into this high-tech matter. But first IJ’s ...

Anyone who has ever grown enraged after seeing their comment deleted from a Facebook page will find solace in this week’s episode. We examine a free speech tussle between the National Institutes of Health and the animal rights folks at PETA. IJ’s Michael Soyfer brings us this First Amendment case from the D.C. Circuit which said that blocking certain hashtags isn’t necessarily right even when the posters say mean things. But before that we look at interstate commerce and truckers. The Fifth Circ...

A most unusual Fourth Amendment case this week: One cop claims there was a seizure while another says there was not. They disagree because one cop is suing the other. Guess which cop wins? It’s the one with the dog—named Thor—that got a little too eager in a cemetery while in hot pursuit. But apparently didn’t “seize” the other by mistakenly tearing into his leg. Dylan Moore of IJ brings us this canine caper from the Eighth Circuit. Then your host takes you to the en banc Fifth Circuit and tells...

Emphasizing the justice in our name, IJ recently launched a new project to fight back against zoning laws, Zoning Justice. We’ve been challenging overreaching zoning for years, but there’s now a new emphasis on how it inhibits people from providing housing and pursuing the American Dream. Joining us to talk about this new venture are the project’s leader Ari Bargil and IJ attorney Joe Gay. Joe tells us about some recent zoning reforms in Montana and an amicus brief he filed in the state’s suprem...

It’s time for Short Circuit to head for the hills. Two cases from the mountainous Tenth Circuit, one on the Fourth Amendment and another on the Bivens doctrine. First, Bob Belden of IJ saddles up for a 911 call that may have led to the wrongful arrest of a Super Bowl reveler. What is enough evidence from an anonymous tip to stop a supposedly shady suspect? Not as much as was in a parking lot full of Broncos fans. Then your host gives an update on a terrorist who has been in prison for quite some...