Short Circuit

Institute for Justice
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Short Circuit

The Supreme Court decides a few dozen cases every year; federal appellate courts decide thousands. So if you love constitutional law, the circuit courts are where it’s at. Join us as we break down some of the week’s most intriguing appellate decisions with a unique brand of insight, wit, and passion for judicial engagement and the rule of law. ij.org/short-circuit

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Short Circuit 355 | Civil Rights Reform in the States

    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 state supreme courts, the limited involvement the Department of Justice has with local police departments, and other subjects. Plus, there’s information on how citizens themselves can make a difference, including the often-forgotten opportunity to serve on a jury. Civil Rights Ecosystems Lessons From New Mexico New Mexico Law Review Symposium State Court Report

    41 min

  2. DEC 13

    Short Circuit 354 | Grounds Increasingly Dubious

    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 Keith explains, “at some point you run out of stupid.” The case concerns the First Amendment but at bottom it’s about bureaucratic bad faith. Then we hear from IJ’s Josh Fox about a Second Circuit opinion with a default judgment and a prisoner. Unusually, it’s not a default judgment against a prisoner but one a prisoner won against a prison guard. This story from Fishkill, New York deals with what happens when a plaintiff loses their claim against some defendants but wins the same claim against another defendant through default. Is that OK? The district court thought it was and awarded the prisoner $50,000. But things weren’t so great on appeal. This leads to your host describing himself as a default judgment lawyer. Also, Josh answers the perennial question: What’s up with the Court of Federal Claims? Brown v. Yost Moore v. Booth Beyond the Brief’s YouTube channel Unpublished Opinions, Episode 9 Vogons

    54 min

  3. DEC 10

    Short Circuit 353 | Jurisdictional Mavens

    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 pretty short, mostly because the lawyers seem to have forgotten they work for a railroad. Then Christie Hebert of IJ takes us on an up-and-down ride in the Eighth Circuit with a takings case (and a bit of Contract Clause thrown in) that despite its hopeful beginnings on appeal two years ago ends in a meaningless one-page opinion. Along the way she shares what she learned at the Supreme Court earlier this year in IJ’s property rights case, DeVillier. And, for those who can’t find such content anywhere else, there’s a spirited defense of Rule 12(c) motions. Montoya v. Amtrak Oral argument in Montoya Heights Apartments v. Walz (2022) Heights Apartments v. Walz (D. Ct. 2023) Heights Apartments v. Walz (2024) Podium and Panel Podcast (Apple) Patrick on LinkedIn The Railway Children Latest episode of Unpublished Opinions

    55 min

  4. NOV 29

    Short Circuit 352 | Misinformation

    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 Section 230 immunity runs into a TikTok algorithm. Breaking with other circuits, the court says TikTok loses this one because the algorithm makes the content first-party speech, not third-party. It’s a ruling that could mean this issue is finally going up to the Supreme Court. What’s a “publisher” under the First Amendment vs. Section 230 vs. whatever? People are confused, the courts especially. Project Veritas v. CNN Anderson v. TikTok Techdirt article Still William, Chapter II

    39 min

  5. NOV 22

    Short Circuit 351 | State Court Shenanigans

    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 the ins and outs of how a doctrine that is supposed to simply prevent appeals from state court to the lower federal courts has become a catch-all to get rid of deserving cases, including his case where his client is suing child welfare agents for violating her custody rights. Joe also shares some knowledge about how state courts work in Wisconsin, including a rule about dicta that it shares with the Ninth Circuit. Then IJ’s Arif Panju relocates us to the Fifth Circuit where the press was excluded from bail hearings before Texas state magistrate judges. This violates the First Amendment, it turns out. You’ll also learn a bit about where to find the best brisket. Gilbank v. Wood County Dept of Human Services (en banc) Texas Tribune v. Caldwell County Short Circuit episode on Sixth Circuit case Gilbank Cert Petition Stats on Wisconsin Supreme Court cases

    1h 8m

  6. NOV 15

    Short Circuit 350 | In rem Liechtenstein

    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 Second Amendment challenges to the District of Columbia’s gun laws. If your jam is gunpowder storage, nineteenth century trap guns, Bowie knives on the frontier, and diagrams of centuries-old guns that belong in Terminator movies, we’ve got you covered. U.S. v. Nasri Hanson v. D.C. End Forfeiture The Parent’s Assistant

    58 min

  7. NOV 8

    Short Circuit 349 | Wrong Side of the Road

    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 something to do with that last-term victory—outlines a trilogy of recent opinions in the Eleventh Circuit where former federal officials have tried to remove their state criminal prosecutions to federal court. It may well be that one of the cases—involving former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows—has been taken by the Supreme Court by the time you listen. Also, in the podcast Anya says she’ll make a handy chart to help all of you navigate through the story. Well, afterward she actually did! Click on the link below to see it. Murphy v. Schmitt (8th Cir.) Georgia v. Clark Georgia v. Shafer Georgia v. Meadows (11th Cir.) SCOTUS docket for Meadows Short Circuit episode with Andrew Fleischman Ulysses Anya’s chart

    51 min

  8. NOV 1

    Short Circuit 348 | Excessive Fines and the IRS

    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 Harcar of IJ provides the holding and some well-reasoned portions of his opinion as well. Further, as a special treat, Jacob tells us of some work he’s done on legislative immunity and Reconstruction. Plus, do you know the difference between an acronym and an initialism? Whatever it is, we hope you won’t say the two flirted excessively. U.S. v. Schwarzbaum Stein v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Gorsuch dissent in Toth v. U.S. denial Timbs v. Indiana Short Circuit episode on dicta in 9th Cir. Jacob’s Section 1983 article Excessive flirting in Emma

    52 min
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About

The Supreme Court decides a few dozen cases every year; federal appellate courts decide thousands. So if you love constitutional law, the circuit courts are where it’s at. Join us as we break down some of the week’s most intriguing appellate decisions with a unique brand of insight, wit, and passion for judicial engagement and the rule of law. ij.org/short-circuit

Information

  • Creator
    Institute for Justice
  • Years Active
    2009 - 2024
  • Episodes
    301
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Institute for Justice
  • Show Website
    Short Circuit

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