Two wild stories this week, one biblical and one of a more secular nature—but still wild. Jeff Redfern of IJ tells of a Texan judicial shootout in a fight between credit card companies and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. The companies got tired of waiting for the trial court to rule on an emergency motion so they appealed it—but around the same time the trial court transferred the case to a court in Washington, D.C. Was that wrong? Can anything be done about it? Opinions differ. Then Keith Neely of IJ takes us underwater to the Sixth Circuit for perhaps our first case involving baptism. An officer was ready to charge a driver with marijuana possession, but then offers to give her a lesser charge . . . if she lets him baptize her in a lake that night. Which, after she grabs some towels, goes forward. And in the ensuing lawsuit qualified immunity is denied because, well, this is pretty obviously unconstitutional. Right? Also, Keith gives a preview of IJ’s new show Beyond the Brief. Check it out!
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 452 | Election Law Special!
Vote early. But maybe don’t vote often? That’s the bottom line from Short Circuit’s biannual election special. With the 2026 General Election only days away, […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 451 | Tales from the Tenth
Short Circuit visited the Tenth Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado Springs. Between gin and tonics at the Broadmoor hotel we heard from a […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 450 | Cocaine in the Curtilage
If you’ve ever seen the 1971 flick “The French Connection” you may know a bit about hiding illegal drugs inside the bodies of cars. Someone […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 449 | Supreme Court Preview
Our annual Supreme Court term preview, this year from Wake Forest Law and released today, First Monday, the first day of the Supreme Court’s new […]
Listen Now