Short Circuit Newsletter

WHAT IS THE SHORT CIRCUIT NEWSLETTER?

The Supreme Court decides a few dozen cases every year; federal appellate courts decide thousands. We read them so you don’t have to, and give you concise (and fun-to-read) summaries of the most intriguing decisions.

Learn More

SEARCH FOR CASES

Perform a warrantless search of the cases in our archives.

RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER

Keep current on the federal circuit courts with a weekly email round-up in your inbox.

Newsletters

Homeless sweeps, flirty fun, and a DeLorean dustup.

WEEK OF December 6, 2019

Newsletters

A pizza shop vandal, FOIA/RICO/1A, and the Case of the Polite Bank Robber.

WEEK OF November 29, 2019

Newsletters

The Fight of the Century, Moloch worship, and a mountain of contempt sanctions.

WEEK OF November 22, 2019

Newsletters

Football prayers, Peanut M&Ms, and illegal palmetto berry harvesting.

WEEK OF November 15, 2019

Newsletters

Unfit grandparents, hours at the DMV, a Cheerleading Constitution.

WEEK OF November 8, 2019

Newsletters

SWAT teams, filter teams, and the IRS’ asset forfeiture database.

WEEK OF November 1, 2019

Newsletters

Open fields, tight handcuffs, and mass shootings.

WEEK OF October 25, 2019

Newsletters

Golf swingers, a gangrenous finger, and the ancient concept of “frolic.”

WEEK OF October 18, 2019

Newsletters

A spate of bad lawyering, a spate of congressional subpoenas, and finding love in prison.

WEEK OF October 11, 2019

Newsletters

Net neutrality, malingering mailmen, and procrastinating plaintiffs

WEEK OF October 4, 2019

Newsletters

Bad language, Batman, and bias responses.

WEEK OF September 27, 2019

Newsletters

Waterfowl production, Officer Outlaw, and all-white juries.

WEEK OF September 20, 2019

Newsletters

A patronized president, a campaign of emotional torture, and a utterly unqualified forensics expert.

WEEK OF September 13, 2019

Newsletters

TSA screeners, background checks, and mandatory bar dues.

WEEK OF September 6, 2019

Newsletters

Counterfeit energy drinks, nunchucks that weren’t, and the dark web

WEEK OF August 30, 2019

Newsletters

Crazy pills, a toy gun, and an anomalous elector.

WEEK OF August 23, 2019

Newsletters

A fake university, safe and sanitary conditions, and old school equal protection.

WEEK OF August 16, 2019

Newsletters

Cookies and crème.

WEEK OF August 9, 2019

Newsletters

Full-body banana costumes, in-state grapes, and apple pie.

WEEK OF August 2, 2019

Newsletters

SWAT raids, safe spaces, and a Mumbai mobster.

WEEK OF July 26, 2019

Newsletters

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity, habitual drunkards, and garden-variety tyranny.

WEEK OF July 19, 2019

Newsletters

Juvenile mug shots, privacy for reality show stars, and aggressing a police car.

WEEK OF July 12, 2019

Newsletters

Bikini baristas, cell phone radiation, and an onslaught of horribles.

WEEK OF July 5, 2019

Newsletters

Citations to nowhere, satanic cardigans, and untested rape kits.

WEEK OF June 28, 2019

Newsletters

Spy networks, cyberattacks, and the price we pay for civilization.

WEEK OF June 21, 2019

Newsletters

Prison brunch, gaslighting, and nonconsensual neonatal blood samples.

WEEK OF June 14, 2019

Newsletters

Gluten sensitivity, rectal probes, and troubling electrical towers.

WEEK OF June 7, 2019

Newsletters

Where is the treasure? Where are the assets? Where’s the loot?

WEEK OF May 31, 2019

Newsletters

Litigation financing, campaign financing, and salmagundi.

WEEK OF May 24, 2019

Newsletters

Drug traffickers’ idol, a voice from the grave, and all decent people.

WEEK OF May 17, 2019

Newsletters

Invading agricultural land, re-plowing the CFPB’s structure, and solitary confinement.

WEEK OF May 10, 2019

Newsletters

The Punisher, compelled self-incrimination, and a unicorn amongst unicorns.

WEEK OF May 3, 2019

Newsletters

Tire chalking, evidence tampering, and robocalls.

WEEK OF April 26, 2019

Newsletters

Halfway originalism, frustrated immigration enforcement, and sit down or be put down.

WEEK OF April 19, 2019

Newsletters

Cherry regulation, landfill corruption, and taking some air.

WEEK OF April 12, 2019

Newsletters

Inmate sterilization, a rodent infestation, and the return of dueling dinos.

WEEK OF April 5, 2019

Newsletters

It wasn’t about what was fair, it wasn’t about what was honest, it was about winning.

WEEK OF March 29, 2019

Newsletters

Military secrets, therapeutic insoles, and (allegedly) thieving police.

WEEK OF March 22, 2019

Newsletters

A police schism, a profanity-laced raid, and Mustangs over Berlin.

WEEK OF March 15, 2019

Newsletters

Salt storage, unspeedy trials, and cop-on-cop crime.

WEEK OF March 8, 2019

Newsletters

Waste and distraction, unclean hands, and defamation on Twitter.

WEEK OF March 1, 2019

Newsletters

Robin Hood, affordable housing cronyism, and a free nipple split.

WEEK OF February 22, 2019

Newsletters

Zestimates, Big Girl Panties, and Scabby the Rat

WEEK OF February 15, 2019

Newsletters

Hypnosis, fungal spores, and a Bernie independent.

WEEK OF February 8, 2019

Newsletters

Inoperable fuzes, sweetened sugar beverages, and sexed cow semen.

WEEK OF February 1, 2019

Newsletters

Deadlocked juries, shooting at truckers, and the Adventure of the Seas.

WEEK OF January 25, 2019

Newsletters

Desperate circumstances, deceptive edits, and the rule of orderliness.

WEEK OF January 18, 2019

Newsletters

Sovereign immunity, absolute immunity, qualified immunity, and the agora of the digital age.

WEEK OF January 11, 2019

Newsletters

A blind websurfer, an accidental No Fly List designation, and a threat-inducing photocopy.

WEEK OF January 4, 2019

Newsletters

Tonal tightropes, regulatory time bombs, and a Southern soul music rivalry.

WEEK OF December 28, 2018

Newsletters

Almond milk, pee tests, and the Lorax doctrine.

WEEK OF December 21, 2018

Newsletters

A misleading film, a misleading statistic, and misleading crackers.

WEEK OF December 14, 2018

Newsletters

Body slams, reasonable retaliation, and Russian software.

WEEK OF December 7, 2018

Newsletters

Bridge malefactors, mandatory blank reports, and a leaky judge.

WEEK OF November 30, 2018

Newsletters

Covered cheeks, cheeky hyphens, and uncovered booking photos.

WEEK OF November 23, 2018

Newsletters

Civil disgorgement, mild chastisement, and a Third Amendment.

WEEK OF November 16, 2018

Newsletters

Dinosaur mortal combat, the hose treatment, and the great high school impostor.

WEEK OF November 9, 2018

Newsletters

A barbaric sentence, unpurged voters, and a porcine gag order.

WEEK OF November 2, 2018

Newsletters

Weeds, word counts, and would-be blood donors.

WEEK OF October 26, 2018

Newsletters

Root canals, contraband dogs, and a marijuana petition.

WEEK OF October 15, 2018

Newsletters

Public defender shortfalls, warrantless rental inspections, and juveniles in solitary confinement.

WEEK OF October 12, 2018

Newsletters

Butter grades, toxic coal ash, and Stairway to Heaven.

WEEK OF October 1, 2018

Newsletters

Interviewing prisoners, unionizing charter schools, and Rand Paul’s neighbor.

WEEK OF September 24, 2018

Newsletters

Sacred pachyderms, boating while Latino, police misconduct insurance, & more

WEEK OF September 17, 2018

Newsletters

Tasing a pregnant woman, tasing a man in diabetic shock, a faithless elector feels the Bern, & more

WEEK OF September 10, 2018

Newsletters

Studebaker cars, Satanic standing, a “legit baller,” breaking into prison, & more

WEEK OF September 3, 2018

Newsletters

Hawks v. eagles, drop drippers, solitary confinement, & more

WEEK OF August 27, 2018

Newsletters

Feeding the homeless, drawing the Prophet Muhammed, Kim Kardashian, & more

WEEK OF August 20, 2018

Newsletters

Rumpelstiltskin, MacGyver, a whole bunch of attorneys behaving badly, & more

WEEK OF August 13, 2018

Newsletters

The rusty patched bumblebee, microstamping cartridges, officers who don’t turn on their recording equipment, & more

WEEK OF August 6, 2018

Newsletters

Grenades, machine guns, 3D printed guns, a tranquilizer gun, machetes, duct tape, a long blonde wig, & more

WEEK OF July 30, 2018

Newsletters

Nuns against pipelines, don’t make eye contact with cops, self-defecation, & more

WEEK OF July 23, 2018

Newsletters

Caligula, Ryan Gosling, the Miracle on Ice, & more

WEEK OF July 16, 2018

Newsletters

Queen Anne’s Revenge, Cindy Lou Who, a pile of deference, & more

WEEK OF July 9, 2018

Newsletters

Inappropriate commentary from the bench, objector blackmail, John Doe summonses, & more

WEEK OF July 2, 2018

Newsletters

A surfeit of text messages, a glut of voicemails, a mass strip search of choir girls, & more

WEEK OF June 25, 2018

Newsletters

Mo money mo problems, open-air burn pits, the case of the missing tattoos, & more

WEEK OF June 18, 2018

Newsletters

Dangerous tennis shoes, a magnificent distillery, bad advice from the IRS, & more

WEEK OF June 11, 2018

Newsletters

Dangerous pavement, defamation insurance, child labor, a virulently racist attorney, & more

WEEK OF June 4, 2018

Newsletters

Mind Your Business vs. In God We Trust, cell extractions, teeth extractions, & more

WEEK OF May 28, 2018

Newsletters

Table grapes, invasive cavity searches, comprehensive phone searches, acute jail conditions, & more

WEEK OF May 21, 2018

Newsletters

Trespassing on a private beach, meet and greets, La-la-land, Ron Paul, & more

WEEK OF May 14, 2018

Newsletters

The lost keepsakes of Simón Bolívar, border searches, violent career offenders, & more

WEEK OF May 7, 2018

Newsletters

Pet food puffery, suspiciously loud laughter, the school of hard knocks, & more

WEEK OF April 30, 2018

Newsletters

Grilling in the yard, radioactive waste in the yard, police drive onto the wrong yard, & more

WEEK OF April 23, 2018

Newsletters

Fishing for a lighter, standing on the porch, the right to loaf about, & more

WEEK OF April 16, 2018

Newsletters

Lemurs, scoundrels, a petulant pedestrian, & more

WEEK OF April 9, 2018

Newsletters

“Scary” bikers, an anticipatory warrant, a ban on Matisse, & more

WEEK OF April 2, 2018

Newsletters

West Nile encephalitis, nunchuks, a detainee’s blackened foot, & more

WEEK OF March 26, 2018

Newsletters

Hacky sacks aka “footbags,” policing for profit a Christmas Spectacular, & more

WEEK OF March 19, 2018

Newsletters

Iced coffee, sanctuary cities, the fiduciary rule, & more

WEEK OF March 12, 2018

Newsletters

Fighter jets, horse soring, climate stewardship, & more

WEEK OF March 5, 2018

Newsletters

Decency on the internet, scraping content, throttling data, & more

WEEK OF February 19, 2018

Newsletters

Handcuffing a 10-year-old, wealth-based pretrial detention, violent retribution for political participation, & more

WEEK OF February 12, 2018

Newsletters

A post-SWAT-raid code inspection, an eggregrious price fixing scheme, a tear gas accident, & more

WEEK OF February 5, 2018

Newsletters

“Sugar-based” prison diet, hot cells, effluent injections, illegal downloading, & more

WEEK OF January 29, 2018

Newsletters

$5 in cologne, $1 million in wine, $50 owed a prison inmate, & more

WEEK OF January 22, 2018

Newsletters

Inappropriate dolphin sex, killing economic liberty, killing killer owls, & more

WEEK OF January 8, 2018