Short Circuit 177 | When Are Judges “Too Cool?”
Podcast (short-circuit): Play in new window | Download
How many pop culture references can a judge make in an opinion before we start to cringe? “Dean” of #AppellateTwitter Raffi Melkonian joins us to give his thoughts on a recent Ninth Circuit case that perhaps broke the all-time record for “coolness,” perhaps to such an extent that it got in the way of its own underlying legal argument. Plus, Diana Simpson looks at another case from the Left Coast, trying to thread the needle on whether “Your right to remain silent” is a “constitutional right” or merely a “constitutional rule.” What’s the difference? We’re not really sure.
Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Short-Circuit-177_otter.ai-FINAL.pdf
Tekoh v. County of Los Angeles (en banc), https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/06/03/18-56414.pdf
Tekoh v. County of Los Angeles (panel opinion), https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/01/15/18-56414.pdf
Briseno v. Henderson, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/06/01/19-56297.pdf
McCaughtry v. City of Red Wing (Phil Simms quote), https://casetext.com/case/mccaughtry-v-city-of-red-wing-3
Raffi Melkonian, https://www.wrightclosebarger.com/attorneys/raffi-melkonian/
Diana Simpson, https://ij.org/staff/diana-simpson/
Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019
Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit
Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iz26kyzdcpodkfm5cpz7rlvf76a
Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/
Want to email us? [email protected]
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 372 | VHS Privacy

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 NowShort Circuit 371 | Ten Years of Short Circuit

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 NowShort Circuit 370 | Humans Only in the Copyright Office

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 NowShort Circuit 369 | Substantive Due Process, The Podcast

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 Now