December 29, 2022
Short Circuit 252 | 13th Amendment at SCOTUS
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Not many lawyers alive today can say they’ve litigated a Thirteenth Amendment case (yes, that amendment; the one about slavery). But we at IJ have […]
Listen NowDecember 22, 2022
Short Circuit 251 | You Got Insurance?
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You got insurance is not just a question they ask at the doctor’s office. Most of the time when someone sues the government—especially a local […]
Listen NowDecember 21, 2022
12 Days of Short Circuit Christmas
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A very short episode for the Holidays. Sung by members of the Institute for Justice. Click to listen, but here are the words: On the […]
Listen NowDecember 16, 2022
Short Circuit 250 | Thanksgiving for the Arrest
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One of our oldest friends (well, not really a “friend”) is back, the rational basis test. Turns out the government can justify refusing to give […]
Listen NowDecember 08, 2022
Short Circuit 249 | Licensed to Work
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For millions of lower-income Americans, state licensing laws make finding work or opening a small business harder and more expensive—if not outright impossible. So claims […]
Listen NowDecember 02, 2022
Short Circuit 248 | “I Declare Bankruptcy”
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Money makes the world go round. And sometimes the Constitution and our civil rights laws help money out with that. We examine a couple recent […]
Listen NowNovember 23, 2022
Short Circuit 247 | Off to the Races
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Just in time for Thanksgiving we have two extremely juicy opinions (from a judicial engagement standpoint), one about the right to earn a living and […]
Listen NowNovember 18, 2022
Short Circuit 246 | The Unholy Trinity
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We’re joined by two friends from the MacArthur Justice Center, Emily Washington and Eric Foley, to tell us all about a blood-boiling case of prosecutorial […]
Listen NowNovember 07, 2022
Short Circuit 245 | A Texas-Sized “And”
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Everything’s big in Texas. Including that famous English conjunction “and.” For the first time on Short Circuit we have two IJ attorneys based in the […]
Listen NowNovember 02, 2022
Short Circuit 244 | Election Special 2022
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When Americans vote it usually means one other thing. Americans suing. And this year is no different. Diana Simpson of IJ joins us, as she […]
Listen NowOctober 28, 2022
Short Circuit 243 | Live From New York It’s Short Circuit!
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We recorded an episode live before an audience in New York City! NYC is home to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second […]
Listen NowOctober 20, 2022
Short Circuit 242 | CON Law at SCOTUS
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The Institute for Justice has asked the Supreme Court to take a case challenging Kentucky’s Certificate of Need law (aka a “CON law”—very much a […]
Listen NowOctober 13, 2022
Short Circuit 241 | Pretext for a Traffic Stop
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The Supreme Court has said that once the police find a reason to pull you over, they can pull you over—even if that’s not at […]
Listen NowOctober 07, 2022
Short Circuit 240 | Live at Columbia Law!
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Enjoy some intra-Ivy League ribbing with two Yale grads talking law and clerkships from deep inside New York’s oldest university. Short Circuit welcomes David Lat […]
Listen NowSeptember 29, 2022
Short Circuit 239 | SCOTUS Preview Live from UNC
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What’s new in OT22? Quite a bit, it turns out. This is our sixth annual Short Circuit Live Supreme Court Preview from the University of […]
Listen NowSeptember 22, 2022
Short Circuit 238 | Dude, Where’s My Passport?
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If a doctor says a prisoner needs to take his medication, and you’re a prison guard, you should give the prisoner his medication. A number […]
Listen NowSeptember 16, 2022
Short Circuit 237 | Live at the University of Montana
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It’s the first Big Sky Short Circuit! Recorded in front of students at the University of Montana School of Law, we examine three cases from […]
Listen NowSeptember 08, 2022
Short Circuit 236 | Constitutions and Common Law
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When you sue the government for violating your rights do you first need the government’s permission? Unfortunately, the answer is usually “yes.” We look at […]
Listen NowSeptember 02, 2022
Short Circuit 235 | Smelly Short-Term Rental Laws
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We all know that guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days, But what about short-term rental ordinances? We look at a pair of […]
Listen NowAugust 26, 2022
Short Circuit 234 | Treaties With Tribes
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Do you know your Indian Law from your Tribal Law? If not, Minnesota appellate attorney Scott Flaherty joins us to discuss a recent Seventh Circuit […]
Listen NowAugust 22, 2022
Short Circuit 233 | Frozen Lawns and Nashville Blues
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Property rights leads the way this week, with a little bit of intervention thrown in. Paul Avelar of IJ joins us to present a Sixth […]
Listen NowAugust 09, 2022
Short Circuit 232 | Abolish the Zoning
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We welcome Nolan Gray on this week, author of the new book Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. […]
Listen NowAugust 04, 2022
Short Circuit 231 | Focus on What Matters
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A couple cases this week where federal courts, at least in part, paid attention to the right things. Joined by the leaders of IJ’s Project […]
Listen NowJuly 28, 2022
Short Circuit 230 | Immunities Denied and Federal Court for Trump Prosecution
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Georgia criminal defense attorney Andrew Fleischman joins us to talk about a unicorn. Yes, the Eleventh Circuit recently found a state prosecutor was not absolutely […]
Listen NowJuly 22, 2022
Short Circuit 229 | Recording the Police
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The First Amendment protects your right to record the police. Yes, we already knew that, said the Tenth Circuit. Um, you did? Dan Alban presents […]
Listen NowJuly 15, 2022
Short Circuit 228 | No Portable Signs
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A town made it illegal to hold a sign. Anywhere. Really, just holding a sign is illegal. Sound like a First Amendment violation? That’s what […]
Listen NowJuly 07, 2022
Short Circuit 227 | Salt Mines and Open Fields
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Ever worked in a salt mine? It seems some non-union employees hadn’t either when their boss joked that they might be sent to one. That […]
Listen NowJuly 01, 2022
Short Circuit 226 | Short Circuit Live Constitutional GPA
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Recorded live at UCLA, we’re introducing a new study from the Institute for Justice: Constitutional G.P.A., is your Government Preventing Accountability? The study grades each […]
Listen NowJune 23, 2022
Short Circuit 225 | Supreme School Choice Victory
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On a special Short Circuit, we sit down with Michael Bindas, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and lead attorney in Carson v. […]
Listen NowJune 16, 2022
Episode 224 | Cameras on Poles Recording Everything
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It’s just so easy these days to put a camera on a pole and record everything that happens in someone’s front yard for eight months. […]
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