Podcasts Archive
Short Circuit 341 | Live from Austin: Local Retaliation
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 […]
Listen NowCarrying Cash is NOT a Crime
It’s legal to travel domestically with any amount of cash. It’s legal to travel in and out of the U.S. with more than $10k if […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 340 | No Way to Run a Railroad
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 […]
Listen NowPunishment Without Crime | Season 3, Ep. 9
Civil forfeiture is a civil rights nightmare, allowing police and prosecutors to seize billions of dollars’ worth of property annually—cash, cars, houses, bank accounts, and […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 339 | The Crime of Journalism
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 338 | Geofence Warrants
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 […]
Listen NowTo Serve, Protect, and...Fish for Cash? Bogus Traffic Stops Violate 4th Amendment
On a typical day, police officers pull over more than 50,000 drivers. If you’ve had a recent encounter with police, chances are good it was […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 337 | Facebook Comment Board of Appeals
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 336 | Thor’s Seizure
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 […]
Listen NowSpeaking for a Living and the First Amendment
The freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment is a foundational and cherished right that sets America apart from other constitutional democracies. Many […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 335 | Zoning Justice
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 334 | Only Mostly Dead
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 […]
Listen NowWill the Supreme Court Finally Curb Civil Forfeiture? Maybe.
As our listeners probably know, civil forfeiture is legal practice that lets the government take and keep your property by claiming it’s connected to a […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 333 | Live at Hogan Lovells!
We join forces with the law firm of Hogan Lovells to bring you some “legal mumbo jumbo”—an episode recorded at their offices in Washington, D.C. […]
Listen NowSWAT Raids are Out of Control
Imagine a SWAT team raids a house—battering doors, breaking windows, and coating everything inside with tear gas residue. Now imagine the SWAT team had the […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 332 | Not-So Government Speech
This episode is a First Amendment 2-4-1. We begin with James Dickey of the Upper Midwest Law Center (and former golf pro). James tells us […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 331 | The British Are Coming
The Fourth of July holds a central place in American history. The day patriots threw off the shackles of King George. Which is why it’s […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 330 | Pretext Takings
Everybody knows that the government can’t take property from you just because it doesn’t like you. But what if the government says it actually wants […]
Listen NowFBI Commits the Largest Armed Robbery in American History
In March 2021, people entered a private security-deposit box company in Beverly Hills, CA, broke open hundreds of boxes, and indiscriminately seized their contents – […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 329 | Much Ado About Nothing
Is “perceived speech” protected by the First Amendment? That straightforward question goes in a very complicated direction when a truck driver is fired from his […]
Listen NowPublic Purpose | Season 3, Ep. 8
In 2005, in the case of Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court allowed officials to seize and raze an entire neighborhood of well-maintained homes […]
Listen NowIJ Client Fulfills Dream of Helping Others–Overcomes Permanent Punishment Law
We like to think of America as a land of opportunity and second chances. But what happens when a web of government restrictions prevents someone […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 328 | A Modest Proposal
It’s a Short Circuit Live, recorded at the Institute for Justice’s annual law student conference! Patrick Jaicomo is your host, and he brings along IJ’s […]
Listen NowWhy Holding Feds Accountable is (ALMOST) Impossible
If a federal official violates your rights, is it impossible to hold them accountable? In this episode, we talk with IJ senior attorneys Anya Bidwell […]
Listen NowUnpublished Opinions 7 | Ignorant Bliss
Another episode of that podcast that’s not Short Circuit but features Institute for Justice attorneys talking about the law. Anya Bidwell rejoins the panel while […]
Listen NowThe Despotic Power | Season 3, Ep. 7
On this episode: Berman v. Parker, the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to abandon previous constitutional limits on the government’s power to take property from […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 327 | Conference Realignment
If you’re a fan of our furry friends (actual animals, that is) then this is the episode for you. First, we start with what’s important: […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 326 | Modesty of Our Lexicographers
First of all: PARENTAL ADVISORY! If you have children nearby you might want to save part of this episode for later. It doesn’t happen until […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 325 | This Is a Racket
How does history inform our interpretation of the Constitution? In all kinds of ways, it seems, and perhaps in too many of them. We once […]
Listen NowRuling Lets Gov’t TRESPASS on 96% of PRIVATE Land in the U.S.
Your home is supposed to be your castle. But what about the land your castle sits on? We discuss why it is that most private […]
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