Short Circuit Podcast

We welcome back a treasured many-times guest, the first time since he’s left IJ. Brian Morris served in our merry band of libertarian litigators for […]

In the wild days of June 2020 you may remember how a group of protestors took over a few city blocks in Seattle, and how […]

In our #12Months12Circuits series it’s time to drink an entire Fifth. Now, regular listeners will be very familiar with the Fifth Circuit’s waters and may […]

You may remember Roy Moore’s 2017 campaign in Alabama for the U.S. Senate in which a controversy arose as to his behavior at the Gadsden […]

Live from the University of Michigan we bring you the latest in administrative law with some of the top scholars and practitioners in the field. […]

John Wrench of IJ details the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that the federal ban on home distilling is unconstitutional. At least as the case was argued, […]

Short Circuit traveled to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where the student Federalist Society chapter graciously hosted us and allowed us to present a […]

Getting a jury is one of the most venerated constitutional rights Americans have. But if you’re before the Securities and Exchange Commission there’s been no […]

The Institute for Justice is once again taking a close look at civil forfeiture. One of IJ’s leaders in our civil forfeiture work, Dan Alban, […]

When the police ask you for an I.D., when do you have to hand it over? That depends on a lot of facts and a […]

With a baker’s dozen of circuits it’s hard to pick a favorite. Or is it? We sit down with three lawyers and scholars to ask […]

Evan Lisull of IJ tells us of a guy on probation who seems to have been pretty clever with his living arrangements. The police often […]

We welcome on Sam MacRoberts of the Kansas Justice Institute for an inspection of the Fourth Amendment. Sam is the General Counsel and Litigation Director […]

[Note: This episode was down for a couple days but has been reposted. It originally dropped on March 6, 2026.] If you’ve ever wondered if […]

Litigation is a risky business. Borrowing tens of millions of dollars to win a lawsuit is even more risky. And it turns out makes settling […]

In Colorado marijuana is legal under state law. In Kansas it is not. This had led Kansan police officers to stop a lot of cars […]

An all-star conversation among Stanford professors, recorded live before Stanford students, about originalism and how it interacts with recent cases from the federal courts of […]

If you own rights to movies or shows and would prefer them to not end up on YouTube for free this is an episode for […]

IJ’s John Wrench journeys to New Orleans to chat with some legal scholars on their recent work on all kinds of IJ-adjacent questions, especially as […]

Lovers of municipal crime and corruption—and internal affairs departments not doing their jobs—may enjoy the stories this week from Detroit and Baltimore. First, Kirby Thomas […]

When you pay your bail money it’s a good practice to get a receipt. A woman in Mississippi found that out the hard way when […]

What does qualified immunity have to do with Joan of Arc? Released on the anniversary of the start of her trial, this episode examines that […]

IJ’s Anya Bidwell interviews two civil rights lawyers for a wide-ranging conversation about what it’s like to litigate on behalf of people behind bars. She […]

In the early days of the COVID pandemic, a county in Florida thought it was a good idea to keep people off of the beach. […]

Starting with a few lines from Shakespeare’s As You Like It, we are joined by two gentlemen of the stage, James Joseph, the first Assistant […]

The U.S. government seized over $600,000 from a business, tried to forfeit the money, never filed criminal charges against anyone, and then three years later […]

What happens if you sue your employer and your boss’s boss is a federal judge? It’s kind of complicated. Aliza Shatzman of the Legal Accountability […]

Can a city require you to get a permit if you’re having a few people over to pray? In an Ohio town it was a […]

In a special episode, IJ’s Anya Bidwell interviews Matteo Godi of USC Law about his new article “Section 1983: A Strict Liability Statutory Tort.” Professor […]

We’re joined by Reb Masel, a California lawyer who tries to keep the law fun while educating the public about how it works. She’s apparently […]