May 16, 2025
Short Circuit 376 | Murder Mysteries
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Two federal appellate opinions involving a murder and whether justice was served. First, IJ’s Dan Alban reports on a Sixth Circuit case where a man […]
Listen NowMay 09, 2025
Short Circuit 375 | Unsympathetic Clients
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Constitutional rights protect everyone, even people we might not be terribly fond of. This week we discuss two defendants who perhaps don’t deserve a lot […]
Listen NowMay 02, 2025
Short Circuit 374 | Content-Based Dancing
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All kinds of constitutional goodies this week, from sovereign immunity to the First Amendment right to dance. But we begin with our annual Kentucky Derby […]
Listen NowApril 25, 2025
Short Circuit 373 | Live from Denver Law!
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Short Circuit went mile high for a live show before the students at Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. The focus was […]
Listen NowApril 18, 2025
Short Circuit 372 | VHS Privacy
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An old friend returns to Short Circuit, but it’s not a guest. It’s a case, Villarreal v. City of Laredo, where police retaliated against a […]
Listen NowApril 11, 2025
Short Circuit 371 | Ten Years of Short Circuit
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Last week the Short Circuit staff celebrated ten years of our inexhaustive coverage of the federal courts of appeals. At the Studio Theatre in Washington, […]
Listen NowApril 04, 2025
Short Circuit 370 | Humans Only in the Copyright Office
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Bad news for our AI listeners this week. The D.C. Circuit ruled that you cannot be the “author” of a copyrighted work. Only humans get […]
Listen NowMarch 28, 2025
Short Circuit 369 | Substantive Due Process, The Podcast
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Most weeks we summarize two, sometimes three, cases from the federal courts of appeals. This week we provide to you free of charge (as always) […]
Listen NowMarch 21, 2025
Short Circuit 368 | Flipping the Bird
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Is stretching out one’s middle finger at the police protected by the First Amendment? And whether it is or not, can the police trump up […]
Listen NowMarch 14, 2025
Short Circuit 367 | The Police Power
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Often in old constitutional cases you see judges of yonder years invoking this mysterious substance called “the police power.” It’s something that has fallen out […]
Listen NowMarch 07, 2025
Short Circuit 366 | I Love You But Can’t
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What’s the difference between a campaign contribution and a bribe? More than the Sixth Circuit seemed to think. Or so argues Paul Sherman of IJ […]
Listen NowFebruary 28, 2025
Short Circuit 365 | I Like Old Property
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A long-time friend of the Institute for Justice, Robert Thomas, joins us this week. For years he’s litigated property rights cases across the country, lately […]
Listen NowFebruary 21, 2025
Short Circuit 364 | Big Bats
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Everyone agrees we need to build more homes. But what if those homes are going to be in your backyard? For some reason that possibility […]
Listen NowFebruary 14, 2025
Short Circuit 363 | The Licensing Racket
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You probably know that all-too-many jobs require a license to work. But how is that license administered, who enforces its rules, and who makes the […]
Listen NowFebruary 06, 2025
Short Circuit 362 | Boil the Frog to Tear Down the House
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Two cases, from the Fourth and Sixth Circuits, came out within just a few days of each other, and each was about a city tearing […]
Listen NowJanuary 31, 2025
Short Circuit 361 | Reading the Qualified Tea Leaves
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We welcome back Easha Anand of Stanford Law’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic for her third (or is it fourth?) appearance. Last time she was on […]
Listen NowJanuary 24, 2025
Short Circuit 360 | Weed and Fines
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If you have a greenhouse, and a government agent sees it on Google Maps, is that fact probable cause to charge you with growing illegal […]
Listen NowJanuary 17, 2025
Short Circuit 359 | Net Neutrality Flip Flops
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A lot going on this week, including a lot of Short Circuit news. On the law side we talk about two recent opinions, one from […]
Listen NowJanuary 10, 2025
Short Circuit 358 | Motte-and-Bailey Game
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Can state officers simply come on your land and take samples of your dirt (and water) without a warrant? Well, it’s hard to know when […]
Listen NowJanuary 03, 2025
Short Circuit 357 | Drama at the City Council Meeting
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City council meetings are usually sparsely attended, low key, unwatched affairs. Except when they’re not. This week we have two cases where those in power […]
Listen NowDecember 27, 2024
Short Circuit 356 | Christmas Sweater Law
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Seasons greetings from Short Circuit! While you’re enjoying your holiday week at the end of 2024 we’re giving you the content you need: Christmas sweaters. […]
Listen NowDecember 20, 2024
Short Circuit 355 | Civil Rights Reform in the States
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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 […]
Listen NowDecember 13, 2024
Short Circuit 354 | Grounds Increasingly Dubious
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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 […]
Listen NowDecember 10, 2024
Short Circuit 353 | Jurisdictional Mavens
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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 […]
Listen NowNovember 29, 2024
Short Circuit 352 | Misinformation
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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 […]
Listen NowNovember 22, 2024
Short Circuit 351 | State Court Shenanigans
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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 […]
Listen NowNovember 15, 2024
Short Circuit 350 | In rem Liechtenstein
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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 […]
Listen NowNovember 08, 2024
Short Circuit 349 | Wrong Side of the Road
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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 […]
Listen NowNovember 01, 2024
Short Circuit 348 | Excessive Fines and the IRS
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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 […]
Listen NowOctober 25, 2024
Short Circuit 347 | Election Law Special
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With less than two weeks before America’s general election it’s time for our biennial dive into election law! A whirlwind tour of election decisions from […]
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