Short Circuit

Latest Episodes:

Short Circuit 230 | Immunities Denied and Federal Court for Trump Prosecution Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

Georgia criminal defense attorney Andrew Fleischman joins us to talk about a unicorn. Yes, the Eleventh Circuit recently found a state prosecutor was not absolutely immune from a civil rights lawsuit, where a witness was arrested for not testifying . . . after he actually showed up to testify. This kind of case is extremely rare, and Andrew discusses how rare, and what its effect might be in a place like the Fulton County prosecutor’s office. Then it’s off to the Fifth Circuit where Alexa Gervasi of IJ discusses an absolutely tragic case where a prisoner dies and the guards are notgranted qualified immunity. Not quite a unicorn, but also a rare beast.

Also, speaking of Fulton County, STICK AROUND TO THE END. Andrew educates us on why if the Fulton County District Attorney prosecutes former President Trump the case could be removed to federal court. And, he gives a prediction about whether that will happen.

Click here for transcript.

Kassa v. Fulton County

Moore v. LaSalle Management Co.

Bound By Oath episode on prosecutorial immunity (with Lara Bazelon)

Removal statute for federal officials prosecuted in state court

Short Circuit 229 | Recording the Police Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

The First Amendment protects your right to record the police. Yes, we already knew that, said the Tenth Circuit. Um, you did? Dan Alban presents a case where an officer blatantly tried to stop a vblogger from recording him by threatening to run him over, and where the court did a few interesting gymnastics in order to say what always should have been obvious. Quality immunity hijinks ensue, but with a happy ending. Then Jeff Rowes takes us to prison in the Fifth Circuit. Was a lawsuit there moot? Not this time, but concurring judge Jim Ho explains that courts say the M-word all too often.

Click here for transcript.

Irizarry v. Yehia

Tucker v. Gaddis

Alexa Gervasi & Anya Bidwell oped

Sledge Hammer! intro

Short Circuit 228 | No Portable Signs Jul 15, 2022

Show notes

A town made it illegal to hold a sign. Anywhere. Really, just holding a sign is illegal. Sound like a First Amendment violation? That’s what we thought. And that’s what David Markese of the American Liberties Institute thought too. David joins us to discuss a recent Eleventh Circuit ruling in favor of his client after they took the town of Fort Myers Beach to court. Then it’s off to Texas to settle the great question, how the heck do you pronounce amicus curiae? After settling that once and for all IJ’s Dan Rankin explains that Tyson Foods can’t move a COVID-19 case to federal court just because it might have feared it was under arrest.

Click here for transcript.

Glenn v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

LaCroix v. Town of Fort Myers Beach

Background on Universal/Nationwide Injunctions

David Markese

Dan Rankin

Anthony Sanders

Short Circuit 227 | Salt Mines and Open Fields Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

Ever worked in a salt mine? It seems some non-union employees hadn't either when their boss joked that they might be sent to one. That wasn't funny to someone completely unconnected to the employer, who filed an unfair labor practice. Jared McClain joins us to discuss this funny case from the Third Circuit. And get a refresher on the open fields doctrine--and how it doesn't apply to seizures--from John Wrench as he tells us about a few not-very-well-looked-after cows. FDRLST Media, LLC v. NLRB, http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/203434p.pdf Hopkins v. Nichols, https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/22a0128p-06.pdf Hester v. U.S. (open fields), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/265/57/ Jared McClain, https://ij.org/staff/jared-mcclain/ John Wrench, https://ij.org/staff/john-wrench/ Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 226 | Short Circuit Live Constitutional GPA Jul 01, 2022

Show notes

Recorded live at UCLA, we’re introducing a new study from the Institute for Justice: Constitutional G.P.A., is your Government Preventing Accountability? The study grades each state on how its citizens are able–or all too often, are not able–to hold government officials accountable when their rights are violated. It’s also a research tool you can use yourself. Hosted by IJ attorney Anya Bidwell we hear about three recent cases through the prism of the study. They are presented by UCLA law professor (and Chief Conspirator at the Volokh Conspiracy) Eugene Volokh, President of the National Police Accountability Project Julia Yoo, and California civil rights attorney Nicholas Yoka.

Feel free to follow along with us by checking out the interactive study here.

Click here for transcript.

Short Circuit 225 | Supreme School Choice Victory Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

On a special Short Circuit, we sit down with Michael Bindas, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and lead attorney in Carson v. Makin. There, the Supreme Court just ruled in favor of Michael’s clients and thousands of children whose parents now have additional options for their education. We talk to Michael about the underlying religious liberty and school choice issues, what it’s like to argue a case at the Supreme Court, and the future of school choice in the wake of this important victory. Somehow we also work bourbon and rye into the conversation.

Click here for transcript.

Episode 224 | Cameras on Poles Recording Everything Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

It’s just so easy these days to put a camera on a pole and record everything that happens in someone’s front yard for eight months. So easy that we keep getting cases where that’s exactly what the police do. Without a warrant. IJ attorney Josh Windham unpacks the latest, out of the First Circuit, Courier font and all. The judges don’t agree, but the rest of us can that this issue is likely heading to the Supreme Court soon. Then Anthony Sanders tells a story from Indiana where its supreme court drew a line in the sand dunes about what its legislature can delegate. But it’s not the “nondelegation doctrine” you’ve heard about.

RSVP for Short Circuit Live and Constitutional G.P.A. on June 30, 2022 in Los Angeles!

Click here for transcript.

Short Circuit 223 | Clerks and Harassment Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

We discuss a couple legal immunities, one listeners will be familiar with and one that’s pretty unknown. The second is being addressed by our special guest, Aliza Shatzman. She is the co-founder of The Legal Accountability Project, a new nonprofit whose mission is to ensure that as many law clerks as possible have positive clerkship experiences while extending support and resources to those who do not. Aliza had a harrowing experience as a law clerk and found that the laws that apply to other government employees often don’t extend to those in the judicial branch. She also presents a recent case from the Fourth Circuit about a judicial branch employee who brought a number of claims to try and get around sovereign immunity—and actually succeeded on a few of them. Then Kirby Thomas West of IJ discusses a Fifth Circuit case with terrible facts, but a good outcome on the qualified immunity front.

Click here for the transcript.

Short Circuit 222 | Live at IJ’s Law Student Conference Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

Recording in front of a live audience at the 2022 Institute for Justice’s Law Student Conference, we look at some of the best, and some of the worst, from the Fourth Circuit. First, Justin Pearson explains why a restriction on “political” advertising on the side of buses was unconstitutional even though it recognized the side of a bus is not a “public forum.” Then, Michael Bindas gives us his best sommelier (or is it wino?) impersonation and discusses a tipsy opinion allowing North Carolina to prevent out-of-state retailers from shipping wine to the state’s consumers. It’s pretty much not what the Supreme Court has said about the dormant Commerce Clause and alcohol.

RSVP to Constitutional GPA and Short Circuit Live at UCLA on Thursday, June 30th 2022!

Click here for transcript.

Short Circuit 221 | The Big Mac May 26, 2022

Show notes

A couple headline-grabbing, government-thumping constitutional-heavyweight cases coming at you this week. First, Rob Johnson explains how he filed a brief on the importance of the right to a jury trial when he checked the news to find the Fifth Circuit had just said the same thing in a different case. He details why this is a big deal (and a good deal) and not the end-of-humanity some people have been shouting about. Then, Dan Alban tells us of how the Eleventh Circuit just found almost all of Florida’s “social media law” unconstitutional, and why this isn’t really that surprising. Except for the fact that the Fifth Circuit has cryptically upheld Texas’s similar law. Also, it’s towel day.

Click here for the transcript.

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