Fans of truckers should enjoy this episode, although they may grow angry hearing about a truck stop that never was to be. Tahmineh Dehbozorgi of IJ tells us of a property owner in Georgia who wanted to turn his land by a highway into a truck stop. But the county was dead set against him, leading to a decades-long zoning battle. A gas station would be OK, but not if it looks more like a place where truckers can fuel their rigs and get a little rest. In the end, when the controversy finally reaches the Eleventh Circuit the rational-basis test squashes any chance the truck stop has because . . . well because it’s a rational-basis case. Then Suranjan Sen takes us to the Sixth Circuit where an eight-year-old wore a hat with a gun on it that also says “Come and Take It.” The student was asked to take it off ostensibly because of a recent shooting in a nearby school. Did that violate the First Amendment? The court claims it did not but the matter seems a close case under the relevant caselaw. The crew looks at the relevance of the Tinker case from the Vietnam War era and also where the “come and take it” phrase comes from. Did you know it’s a Battle of Thermopylae thing?
Recent Episodes
Short Circuit 431 | Hard but not Impossible
We welcome back a treasured many-times guest, the first time since he’s left IJ. Brian Morris served in our merry band of libertarian litigators for […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 430 | Stateless in Seattle
In the wild days of June 2020 you may remember how a group of protestors took over a few city blocks in Seattle, and how […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 429 | A Fifth of Circuit
In our #12Months12Circuits series it’s time to drink an entire Fifth. Now, regular listeners will be very familiar with the Fifth Circuit’s waters and may […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 428 | Shopping With Roy Moore
You may remember Roy Moore’s 2017 campaign in Alabama for the U.S. Senate in which a controversy arose as to his behavior at the Gadsden […]
Listen Now