Short Circuit

How much power does the CDC have during the pandemic? Surprisingly, that was not the issue before a district court considering the constitutionality of the CDC’s eviction moratorium. Instead, it was how much power does the federal government have, virus or not. As Michael Bindas explains, that might have tipped the scales when the court interpreted the scope of the Commerce Clause. Out West, Alexa Gervasi walks us through the latest challenge to mandatory bar association dues. The Ninth Circuit says a Supreme Court precedent is on pretty shaky grounds these days, but as it’s the Supremes’ job to sort its own cases out, the lower court’s hands are tied. That’s true for the free speech claim, but on freedom of association there’s more wriggle room.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Short-Circuit-165.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

New York police disciplinary records were a black box, until the state changed the law. Then the union sued to keep the lid on—but lost. We speak to Tiffany Wright of the Howard University Civil Rights Clinic, who argued the case at the Second Circuit on behalf of the reforms. Also, did you know the government can search your smartphone with absolutely no suspicion when you cross the border? That’s what the First Circuit says, at least. Adam Shelton breaks down this alarming ruling, which we’ll all want to keep in mind when leaving the country becomes a thing again.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/short-circuit-164.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

For once living up to the 1980s-movie-sense of our name, we’re talking about robots. How should the law treat robots? What do we analogize to, the law of traditional machines? Animals? Something else? How should that law be “made,” by courts or by legislatures? And how does the Constitution interact with artificial intelligence? When a robot writes a novel is it “speech?” In a special Short Circuit, we look into all of these questions with our guest Ed Walters, founder and CEO of Fastcase, and an adjunct professor who teaches robot and artificial intelligence law at Georgetown Law School.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/short-circuit-163_otter.ai_.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

If you’re the State, what do you get when you put money owed to a prisoner in a special account, and then take most of that money out for yourself? You lose in federal court. Bob McNamara walks us through a particularly outrageous civil rights lawsuit from Connecticut. Plus, Anya Bidwell describes what happens when a judge is so involved in a case that he shows up at a deposition and also tells the plaintiff he will “crush” her.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Short-Circuit-162_otter.ai_.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

A triad of important things in life are tweets, stateless vessels, and fonts. IJ attorneys Tatiana Pino and Patrick Jaicomo join your host Anthony Sanders to outline how a politician in the Eighth Circuit almost turned her Twitter account into a public forum, which would have prevented her from blocking anyone based on a viewpoint she disagrees with. Also, ever wanted to sail your own boat onto the high seas, free from any nation’s sovereign arm? Too bad. At least says the First Circuit to an unlucky mariner who happened to be transporting quite a lot of cocaine. Finally, Anthony takes us on a tour of the fonts of the federal circuits. Will others follow the Fifth Circuit’s lead and not pretend they issue opinions with typewriters anymore?

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Short-Circuit-161.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

Even though ex-President Trump is off of Twitter, his tweets are still abundant in federal legal filings. IJ Senior Attorney Jeff Rowes explains the First Amendment defenses (spoiler: he thinks there aren’t many) Rudy Giuliani might have to the new lawsuit filed against him by a Canadian voting machine company. But if that’s not international enough for you, IJ attorney Kirby Thomas West shares the saga of a family that thought they were free from diplomatic immunity, but instead failed to obtain citizenship for a women who went on to fight for ISIS, and lost her passport in the process—a decision affirmed by Presidential Tweet. In the process your host Anthony Sanders explains how he never really thought about the “Reception Clause” before (which, unfortunately, has nothing to do with football).

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/short-circuit-160.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

When a judge asks you a question, it’s best to give an answer. We briefly discuss an oral argument that IJ Senior Attorney Rob Frommer had last week on South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws, and listen to some non-answers his opposing counsel gave. Then it’s on to the Fifth Circuit where the court wrestles with a COVID-19 order shutting down Louisiana’s bars, and the Seventh Circuit where both the plaintiff and defendant have some unconventional positions on standing. If you’re playing Short Circuit bingo this episode has got you covered: “Lochner,” “rational basis,” “civil forfeiture,” “Twitter Laureate,” and “subtreasury.”

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Short-Circuit-159.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

The Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause resurfaces in the Seventh Circuit, where the State of Indiana treated some newcomers differently from some long-time residents. Meanwhile, an Arkansas school district augments a consent decree from the days of school desegregation. But there’s a question of whether it did so for the right reasons.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/short-circuit-158.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

How do you put together a campaign of litigation under various state constitutions across the country? And how to you get state courts to take their own constitutions seriously? On this special Short Circuit we explored these questions through the history of marriage equality litigation in state courts before the issue went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining host Anthony Sanders were Professors Lee Carpenter and Ellie Margolis of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law who recently wrote an article on this subject. They recount the history of marriage equality litigation and more broadly examine what to think about when litigating under state constitutions. Whatever the issue is that you’re fighting for—including a few we fight for at the Institute for Justice, such as eminent domain abuse and economic liberty—this is a fun “how to” conversation for public interest lawyers of all kinds.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Short-Circuit-157-transcript.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019

Is it time for the Supreme Court to spread some privileges or immunities cheer? Michael Bindas discusses a cert petition pending at SCOTUS on navigating the navigable waters, one of the few rights the Court has said the Privileges or Immunities Clause protects. He also tells us about a Ninth Circuit case on COVID orders and religious liberty. Meanwhile, Diana Simpson digs into a very deep dive of a First Circuit opinion on recording the cops in Massachusetts. Turns out the First Amendment protects it.

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/short-circuit-156.pdf

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019