Short Circuit

Latest Episodes:

Short Circuit 210 | Grand Juries and IRS Interpretations Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

As news followers over the last few years will know, grand jury records are super secret. But sometimes judges allow the word to get out, under certain narrow circumstances. Is one of them just that the records are old and historians find them interesting? Sorry, says the First Circuit, in the latest installment of a circuit split. Rob Frommer tells us all the history. Also, can the IRS get around the Administrative Procedure Act through some creative lawyering? No, says the Sixth Circuit. John Wrench walks us through a rhetorical lashing of our tax collectors.

Finally, come see Short Circuit Live in DC on April 6, 2022! The link to RSVP and join us is here: https://ij.org/event/scl/

In re: Petition for Order Directing Release of Records, http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/20-1836P-01A.pdf

Mann Construction, Inc. v. United States, https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/22a0041p-06.pdf

Short Circuit Live at University of Georgia, https://shortcircuit.org/sc_podcast/124-live-at-uga-law/

Rob Frommer, https://ij.org/staff/rfrommer/

John Wrench, https://ij.org/staff/john-wrench/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 208 | The Government Is Special Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Wanna get mad? This week we've got you covered. Two cases where the government plays by different rules from the rest of us. First Jaba Tsitsuashvili explains how the 11th Circuit went out of its way to excuse the Department of Justice's failure to raise a legal argument to do with a traffic stop search that private attorneys would not get away with. And Josh House tells us what the 8th Circuit thinks about property when you don't pay property taxes. The result isn't pretty. Along the way, however, there's a few laughs and in the 11th Circuit case we hope you appreciate that "the dissent comes with receipts."

United States v. Campbell, https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201610128.enb.pdf

Tyler v. Hennepin County, https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/22/02/203730P.pdf

https://ij.org/staff/joshua-house/

https://ij.org/staff/jaba-tsitsuashvili/

https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 207 | West Coast Hits Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

Following in the footsteps of last week's Super Bowl halftime show, we're keeping it West Coast today. Two cases from the Ninth Circuit that are Very Ninth Circuit. First, Bob McNamara explains how the overbreadth doctrine invalidated a restriction on speech related to violating immigration law. Then, Joe Gay describes the many ways the court found an Oakland, California ordinance to be just fine constitutionally even though it forces people to pay a lot of money just to move back into their house. Nobody raps, but there are unintentional references to the Norwegian pop group a-ha.

United States v. Hansen, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/02/10/17-10548.pdf

Ballinger v. City of Oakland, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/02/01/19-16550.pdf

Robert McNamara, https://ij.org/staff/robert-mcnamara/

Joe Gay, https://ij.org/staff/joe-gay/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 206 | 50 Shades of Government Immunity Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

The Institute for Justice just issued a new report, 50 Shades of Government Immunity, about what happens when you go to state--not federal--court after the government violates your rights. The report grades every state for its access to justice as an alternative to the federal judiciary. Unfortunately, with just a couple exceptions, it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Two IJ attorneys, Anya Bidwell and Patrick Jaicomo, and Professor Alex Reinert of Cardozo Law, join Short Circuit to discuss the report and Professor Reinert's related research. You'll learn that while going to state court isn't nearly as easy as some at the U.S. Supreme Court assume it to be, there are prospects for reform as well.

50 Shades of Government Immunity, https://ij.org/report/50-shades-of-government-immunity/

New Federalism and Civil Rights Enforcement, https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1478&context=nulr

Protecting Everyone's Constitutional Rights Act (IJ's model legislation), https://ij.org/legislation/protecting-everyones-constitutional-rights-act/

Alex Reinert, https://cardozo.yu.edu/directory/alexander-reinert

Anya Bidwell, https://ij.org/staff/anya-bidwell/

Patrick Jaicomo, https://ij.org/staff/patrick-jaicomo/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 205 | Foreign Divorces Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

Divorce can be hard on the kids. Especially when the divorce was 40 years ago, the government doesn't believe it happened, and your U.S. citizenship depends on whether it did. New York litigator Alexandra Tseitlin joins Short Circuit to discuss an unusual immigration case she recently won in the Third Circuit. Also, ineffective assistance of counsel claims are difficult to win. But they're a bit easier when the lawyer is just obviously wrong about what the law means. Tori Clark of IJ walks us through a tragic story that got a bit better on appeal. And finally, we have a winner in our Most Beautiful Courtroom contest. We hope you don't mind speaking in the library.

Jaffal v. ICE, https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/203148p.pdf

U.S. v. Freeman, https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/194104A.P.pdf

Alexandra Tseitlin, https://www.tseitlinlaw.com/alexandra-tseitlin/

Tori Clark, https://ij.org/staff/tori-clark/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 204 | Contracts and Blood Spatters Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

Sometimes when the government does bad things to you it violates the Constitution. And sometimes it just violates the contract. Jeff Rowes explains the difference, and how things went down with a development scheme in the Fifth Circuit. Also, Will Aronin brings his expertise he learned as a trial lawyer to examine some junk science that has now been put on trial. Plus he details why it would be nice for a criminal defendant to know if a witness testifying against him is known to "stretch the truth."

Preston Hollow Capital, LLC v. Cottonwood Development Corp., https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/21/21-50389-CV0.pdf

O'Donnell v. Yezzo, https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/22a0026n-06.pdf

Judge Jon Newman article on "En Banc," https://static.reuters.com/resources/media/editorial/20200714/IN%20BANC%20PRACTICE%20IN%20THE%20SECOND%20CIRCUIT%20THE%20VIRTUES%20OF%20RESTRAINT.pdf

Jeff Rowes, https://ij.org/staff/jrowes/

Will Aronin, https://ij.org/staff/will-aronin/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 203 | I Have No Idea What’s Going On Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

Is it "on bonk" or "n bank"? IJ lawyers disagree on how to pronounce a full court of appeals considering a case. But whatever your Latin/Old French skills, the en banc Fifth Circuit said some things about the Dallas County jail that even your crack team of experts can't understand. But Sam Gedge does his best to explain what might be going on, and how the court needlessly addressed his favorite topic, Younger abstention. But before that Bob Belden tells a story of a renegade sheriff sticking unauthorized anti-Halloween signs in rehabilitated sex offenders' yards.

RSVP for our live event on the Georgia Constitution on February 4, 2022, https://ij.org/event/center-for-judicial-engagement-forum-on-the-georgia-constitution/

McClendon v. Long, https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202110092.pdf

Daves v. Dallas County, https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/18/18-11368-CV2.pdf

Rival "How to Pronounce 'En Banc'" Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQexSbL8iDQ, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsnW2JDc0G8

Sam Gedge, https://ij.org/staff/sam-gedge/

Bob Belden, https://ij.org/staff/bob-belden/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 202 | Rules for Traffic Stops Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

Ever wondered when the police can pull you over and what they can do once you stop? Then this episode brings news you can use through a couple recent traffic stop cases. Wesley Hottot reports on the Eighth Circuit's blessing of a stop supposedly brought on by some pretty smelly weed (although not everyone is convinced of the story). Then, your host Anthony Sanders tells us of a new development in Oregon where its high court has rejected the "automobile exception" to the requirement to get a warrant before a search. Also, please keep your nominations for the most beautiful federal circuit courtroom rolling in. Our listeners have demonstrated there's some architecturally fierce, yet lovely, competition out there.

United States v. Shumaker, https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/21/12/203467P.pdf

Oregon v. McCarthy, https://cdm17027.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17027coll3/id/9463/rec/2

Post on Oregon v. McCarthy, https://ij.org/cje-post/state-con-law-case-of-the-week-oregon-stops/

IJ's Project on the Fourth Amendment, https://ij.org/issues/ijs-project-on-the-4th-amendment/

Wesley Hottot, https://ij.org/staff/whottot/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 201 | The Fifth Circuit: It’s Complicated Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

It's a new year but little is new with qualified immunity in the Fifth Circuit. Or is it? Easha Anand of the MacArthur Justice Center joins us to discuss a recent denial of qualified immunity in a police brutality case. IJ's Anya Bidwell joins in and reports on a couple other developments that demonstrate perhaps there's some "split second" thinking going on among those judges.

Further, we ask our listeners to send in your nominations for the "most beautiful" U.S. Court of Appeals courtrooms. Got a favorite? Let us know! Either send us an email or find us on Twitter.

Also, apply to be an IJ summer fellow! The deadline is January 14, 2022, https://ij.org/opportunities/students/

Timpa v. Dillard, https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/20-10876/20-10876-2021-12-15.pdf?ts=1639614617

Villarreal v. City of Laredo, https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-40359-CV0.pdf

Harmon v. City of Arlington, http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-10830-CV0.pdf

IJ's Gonzalez v. City of Castle Hills, https://new.ij.org/case/castle-hills-retaliation/

Easha Anand, https://www.macarthurjustice.org/team_member/easha-anand/

Anya Bidwell, https://ij.org/staff/anya-bidwell/

Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

Short Circuit 200 | Origins Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

It's our 200th episode! We're taking this second century as an excuse to explore where Short Circuit came from and what it's done, both the podcast and the newsletter. We start things off at the very beginning with Short Circuit's editor and the podcast's original host John Ross. Then it's a blast-from-the-past with Clark Neily and Evan Bernick. We close things off with guest host Paul Sherman and Short Circuit Live host Anya Bidwell. You've heard how Spiderman and Batman came to be, but do you know what traumatic event led to Short Circuit? Ok, there's no radiation or mugging, but you will learn how reading way too many qualified immunity opinions can radicalize your worldview. Enjoy!

Also, a quick update to the episode. None of us really remembered where the idea for the podcast actually came from, but further deep (and actual) research has revealed it was our sound engineer and producer Mark. Thank you!

https://ij.org/staff/jross/
https://www.cato.org/people/clark-neily
https://www.niu.edu/law/about/directory/bernick.shtml
https://ij.org/staff/psherman/
https://ij.org/staff/anya-bidwell/
https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

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