Short Circuit 177 | When Are Judges “Too Cool?”

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

March 23, 2023

Short Circuit 264 | Evicting Innocent People

Can a city get a renter evicted for a crime they didn’t commit? Unfortunately, in over 2,000 cities across the country the answer is yes. […]

Read More

March 14, 2023

Short Circuit 263 | A Three Hour Tour

A nostalgic tale of judicial engagement where we examine whether recess is a crime and whether it’s fine for the government to follow your every […]

Read More

March 08, 2023

Short Circuit 262 | Shielded

A special Short Circuit Live at Georgetown University hosts Joanna Schwartz of UCLA to discuss her book Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. And not […]

Read More