300 episodes

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

Short Circuit Institute for Justice

    • News
    • 4.6 • 167 Ratings

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

    Short Circuit 315 | A Day at the Races

    Short Circuit 315 | A Day at the Races

    A bit of a free speech derby this week, one opinion about free speech itself and another about how to just get to the First Amendment in the first place. We start in Florida with something that’s becoming a theme on the show: The Eleventh Circuit ruling that a law championed by the state’s governor and passed by the state legislature violates the First Amendment. The opinion concerns part of the “Stop WOKE Act” (acronym alert) and how the court pretty easily found that the law regulates speech, doesn't pass scrutiny, and therefore is unconstitutional. But IJ’s Paul Avelar cautions that although the result may have seemed obvious it actually wasn’t that obvious because of some prior inconsistent cases. Then we hop over to California where IJ’s Christian Lansinger tells us of a horse that dare not speak its name. At least if it wants to race. But putting aside the right to give a horse a name that makes fun of someone else (in this case, the name is “Malpractice Meuser”), the Ninth Circuit focused on procedural hurdles (fences?) that stood in the way of the horse’s owner vindicating that right. It’s time to giddy up!







    Honeyfund.com v. Florida







    Jamgotchian v. Ferraro







    Short Circuit episode on horse racing and nondelegation







    Locke v. Shore (interior designer speech case)

    • 37 min
    Short Circuit 314 | That’s Gold, Jerry, Gold!

    Short Circuit 314 | That’s Gold, Jerry, Gold!

    Everyone says we need more housing, right? Not all local governments agree. Maybe they’re fine with more housing over there but not where developers actually want to build it. Justin Pearson of IJ joins us to tell a story of local shenanigans in his home town in New York state where a long saga to build some homes ended in a glorious flame-out of judicial abdication. There’s regulatory takings, zoning, ripeness, and even a religious liberty angle in this case from the Second Circuit. Then your host makes an offer that’s too good to be true. Because it isn’t. Crypto backed by gold might sound like an odd concept, and it was too odd for a scam artist to stay out of prison. But not before he bilked several million dollars from investors. However, that didn’t prevent him from arguing that the “history and tradition” of his Sixth Amendment right to force witnesses to testify meant he could rope in a few federal government employees. Did the denial of his request mean the court should throw out his conviction? Your host provides the answer from this First Circuit opinion. You’ll learn that even today just shouting “history and tradition” doesn’t get you very much.







    BMG Monroe v. Village of Monroe







    U.S. v. Crater







    Laser scene from Goldfinger

    • 36 min
    Short Circuit 313 | Memo From a Robot

    Short Circuit 313 | Memo From a Robot

    A special episode on artificial intelligence and the law, including how we find the law. Ed Walters, a pioneer in bringing AI to legal research, joins us to separate the artificial wheat from the chaff. He explains that a lot of the recent news about the failures of AI models have been due to using the wrong models for the wrong things, not the models themselves. He walks us through a near future when lawyers can use AI to not just find points of law but write memos or briefs. We’re also joined by IJ’s Paul Sherman, our resident AI aficionado, who recently wrote a letter to the Fifth Circuit about a proposed rule it has regarding AI use and brief writing. There’s a lot of promise out there but also a lot of danger in the government—including courts—overreacting. We also talk a bit about copyright issues and AI and what’s on the horizon. Are we approaching the Singularity? Ed thinks likely not, but there’s still worries we should be aware of.

    • 53 min
    Short Circuit 312 | The Power of FERC

    Short Circuit 312 | The Power of FERC

    An electric episode where we just might short the circuits. That’s because we dive into some capital “D” Drama at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Amid fighting and commissioner turnover related to renewable energy prices and an election, FERC makes a consequential decision without first going to the full board. And later the Sixth Circuit catches that hand in the judicial cookie jar. Dan Knepper of IJ drops by to explain some of the complexities of energy policy and how to remedy its violation when everyone doesn’t dot their i’s. Then Bobbi Taylor of IJ leads us (along with 43 police officers) into a home where no drugs (or the suspect) are found but many family members are seriously injured. Qualified immunity? The Third Circuit prefers a jury. Also, you learn what Sir Walter Scott meant by a “palmer.” And does anyone use paper copies of the Federal Reporter anymore?







    PJM Interconnection v. FERC







    Anglemeyer v. Ammons







    Politico piece Dan mentions







    Sir Walter Scott's Marmion

    • 48 min
    Short Circuit 311 | SCOTUS Ladies

    Short Circuit 311 | SCOTUS Ladies

    We’re joined by the SCOTUS Ladies, two “Supreme Court super fans.” They are Anastasia Boden and Elizabeth Slattery and they’re here to talk about their new blogging project but also to share their wider knowledge of the Constitution, public interest litigation, and even the federal courts of appeals. They each pick a case from the Fifth Circuit by Judge Willett, who you’ll learn is a very self-proclaimed “middle-management circuit judge.” First it’s the big question everyone is asking: Has the Supreme Court impliedly overruled Humphrey’s Executor? Minds seem to differ among the judges. Plus we have a bit of a rumble about structure vs. substance. Then we Netflix and chill while a rogue prosecutor goes after the streaming service and won’t let go—until the court recognizes a loophole in Younger abstention.







    Consumer Research v. CPSC







    Netflix v. Babin







    Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S.







    SCOTUS Ladies

    • 54 min
    Short Circuit 310 | Opening the Vaults

    Short Circuit 310 | Opening the Vaults

    The Ninth Circuit recently had some pretty harsh words for the FBI’s egregious behavior when the Bureau decided to crack open some vaults in Los Angeles. The FBI tried to forfeit all kinds of property held in these vaults from innocent owners. Rob Frommer of IJ tells us all about this IJ case and the Ninth Circuit’s indignation. Then it’s off to the Second Circuit for a different kind of police misconduct, but misconduct nevertheless. IJ’s Katrin Marquez details a police officer’s attempts to silence someone simply because he told the cop to turn his headlights on. The case demonstrates how hard it can be to enforce the First Amendment and how necessary the courts of appeals can be. There’s also some ‘80s nostalgia for those into live TV syndicated specials.







    Click here for transcript.







    Snitko v. U.S.







    Rupp v. Buffalo







    Oral argument in Snitko v. U.S.







    When Geraldo Rivera Opened Al Capone’s Vault







    Buffalo News story on Rupp case







    New IJ report on Qualified Immunity

    • 46 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
167 Ratings

167 Ratings

Sfgrgkhdgb ,

Good analysis

Sometimes a little dry or arcane, but good analysis of cases frequently by the lawyers who argued the cases. Generally focused on freedom and rights-related cases. Respectful and i formative views.

ahdnchfjrjr ,

Almost perfect

If only they didn’t regard corporate speech so highly….

SamoanPower ,

A bit of an Echo Chamber

The podcasts are hit and miss. There are some really good, informative podcasts with some great legal analysis. But, there are others that sound like a cheap plaintiff’s attorney commercial, all bluster and no logical analysis, especially when talking about law enforcement. IJ could really use some diversity in their ranks. Right now it’s an echo chamber.

Top Podcasts In News

The Daily
The New York Times
Up First
NPR
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Daily Wire
Morning Wire
The Daily Wire
Pod Save America
Crooked Media
The Dan Bongino Show
Cumulus Podcast Network | Dan Bongino

You Might Also Like

Divided Argument
Will Baude, Dan Epps
Bound By Oath by IJ
Institute for Justice
U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Oyez
Law Talk With Epstein, Yoo & Senik
The Hoover Institution
Cato Daily Podcast
Cato Institute
SCOTUS 101
The Heritage Foundation