One reason we have a Fourth Amendment is to be free from general warrants, permission slips for the government to search, well, everything. Is that what newfangled “geofence warrants” are? The Fifth Circuit thinks so, which is why it found one to be unconstitutional. Your host brings you the tale of a postal heist where the bandits were only found through a search of Google accounts—592 million of them. But was it a “search” in the first place? We hack into this high-tech matter. But first IJ’s Kirby Thomas West provides an example of special rules for government attorneys. The lawyers for some defendants in a civil rights case didn’t want to use qualified immunity, at least not before trial. But then the trial judge ordered them to. And then, by golly, they won. Was that, um, fair? Seems the Eighth Circuit thought it was hunky dory. Kirby, who has experienced much-less-forgiving judicial treatment while litigating on the other side, begs to differ.
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 385 | Pyramid Power
We look into the gray area between a multi-level-marketing venture, like Amway, and a “pyramid scheme.” Appellate attorney Kyle Singhal joins us to discuss a […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 384 | Metering Constitutional Rights
Can the government force you to only exercise a constitutional right once a month? Could it do that with speech? Or practicing religion? How about […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 383 | Rock ‘n’ Roll Yoga
Is speaking to a yoga class speech? The Ninth Circuit recently proclaimed that the answer to that question is actually “yes.” But before you turn […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 382 | Beard Law
Who doesn’t love a nice beard? It seems the firefighters in Atlantic City. One of their employees wants to wear a beard because of his […]
Listen Now