Short Circuit Podcast

We focus in on two Latin words this week: habeas and mandamus. Both usually mean “you lose.” But things somehow turned out differently in the Fourth Circuit and Fifth Circuit. Hear the story of a man trapped in prison for a small drug sale for almost a decade who fights his way through the state and federal courts and wins himself a new trial. IJ’s Bob Belden tells that tale. And then there’s a story about guns, the Internet, speech, the differences between Texas and New Jersey, and transfer orders. Alexa Gervasi gets us up to speed on that saga. She also previews a new IJ case about a prosecutor working for a judge he practiced before. It’s as bad as it sounds.

Short Circuit Live returns with an all-star all-D.C. Circuit panel! IJ attorney Anya Bidwell hosts a discussion with three Supreme Court lawyers (and former D.C. Circuit clerks), Lisa Blatt, Kelsi Brown Corkran, and Paul Clement. They reminisce about their days clerking for D.C. Circuit judges and analyze three recent circuit opinions on liability under terrorism laws, executive privilege, and no-fly lists.

Some property owners sued an arm of the State of Louisiana for damages and won a $10 million judgment. Wow, that’s real money! Except, because […]

Michigan lawyer and YouTube legal sensation Steve Lehto joins us this week. We talk a bit about his career as a broadcaster, consumer protection lawyer, […]

Like owls? We’ve got owls. Two of them. But they don’t like each other. Ben Field explains how the Ninth Circuit adjudicated with this Parliament […]

As news followers over the last few years will know, grand jury records are super secret. But sometimes judges allow the word to get out, […]

Wanna get mad? This week we’ve got you covered. Two cases where the government plays by different rules from the rest of us. First Jaba […]

Following in the footsteps of last week’s Super Bowl halftime show, we’re keeping it West Coast today. Two cases from the Ninth Circuit that are […]

The Institute for Justice just issued a new report, 50 Shades of Government Immunity, about what happens when you go to state–not federal–court after the […]

Divorce can be hard on the kids. Especially when the divorce was 40 years ago, the government doesn’t believe it happened, and your U.S. citizenship […]

Sometimes when the government does bad things to you it violates the Constitution. And sometimes it just violates the contract. Jeff Rowes explains the difference, […]

Is it “on bonk” or “n bank”? IJ lawyers disagree on how to pronounce a full court of appeals considering a case. But whatever your […]

Ever wondered when the police can pull you over and what they can do once you stop? Then this episode brings news you can use […]

It’s a new year but little is new with qualified immunity in the Fifth Circuit. Or is it? Easha Anand of the MacArthur Justice Center […]

It’s our 200th episode! We’re taking this second century as an excuse to explore where Short Circuit came from and what it’s done, both the […]

In what may be the most obvious of examples of obvious constitutional violations, we discuss the right to not have the police put you in […]

Where do you go to challenge an illegal tax? Well, if that tax is a tariff your destination is the United States Court of International […]

Fans of the Hart-Fuller debate are gonna love this one. As will normal people who have no idea what that means. Legal philosopher HLA Hart […]

In addition to some other civil rights anniversaries, 2021 marks 50 years since the Supreme Court decided Younger v. Harris. There, the Court made it […]

What’s too hot a novel for a prisoner? Apparently “Pride and Prejudice: The Wild and Wanton Edition” meets that standard. The Eighth Circuit dug into […]

How can the government encourage us to keep our trees? In all kinds of ways, but not through mandating the replanting of trees regardless of […]

What did Alexander Hamilton tell the Marquis de Lafayette on July 21, 1780? Probably not that his letter would be the subject of a civil […]

It’s taken five years, but the clients of IJ senior attorney Paul Avelar can now finally get their day in court thanks to a ruling […]

Frustrated with the deeply complicated issue of homelessness on Los Angeles’s skid row, a district court took the law into its own hands and ordered […]

Mike Chase, author of “How to Become a Federal Criminal” and the man behind the @CrimeADay Twitter account, joins us to lay out the Eighth […]

For the fifth year in a row the Center for Judicial Engagement travels to the University of North Carolina School of Law to preview the […]

Ever rolled your tires to try and cover up the meter maid’s chalk mark? No, me neither . . . But even if you haven’t, […]

The Third Circuit allowed a Second Amendment case challenging Robinson Township’s new zoning ordinance to proceed. Did they town change their zoning laws just to […]

Usually a “chill” on your freedom of speech is the easiest constitutional injury to prove. But in the Tenth Circuit it seems if you speak […]

More on two of America’s favorite subjects this week. Josh House rejoins us as we analyze six separate opinions about one football coach. Josh last […]