Short Circuit

The podcast discusses a variety of interesting topics, including government measures to encourage tree preservation, excessive fines, the definition of religious worship, a takings case involving environmental value, penalties for tree damage, land use regulation, and a lawsuit involving Falun Gong practitioners.

Guests Bob Belden and Kirby Thomas West discuss interesting topics including a civil forfeiture case involving a letter from Alexander Hamilton, a fire on a movie set turning into a First Amendment retaliation claim, and the challenges of contesting civil forfeiture by the federal government. They also explore the mysterious disappearance and recovery of the letter, the complexities of a forfeiture case brought by the government, and the confusion surrounding adverse possession of government land.

It’s taken five years, but the clients of IJ senior attorney Paul Avelar can now finally get their day in court thanks to a ruling in the Ninth Circuit. Paul joins us to explain why it takes so long to just try and vindicate your rights, and how Arizona’s (thankfully former) civil forfeiture system allowed prosecutors to keep people’s property over and over again, including, at first, his client’s car. Meanwhile things got SALT-y in the Second Circuit where whatever you think about the state-and-local-income-tax deduction the court says it’s not constitutionally guaranteed. Former New Yorker and IJ attorney Will Aronin uses some family-friendly yet SALT-y language to describe the state’s high taxes and it and a few other states’ successful efforts to have standing, but unsuccessful attempts at anything else. Click here for transcript.

In this podcast, they discuss a court case involving homelessness on Los Angeles's skid row and the Ninth Circuit's reversal of the district court's decision. They also explore the issue of throwing money at homelessness and restrictive zoning laws. Another topic is the denial of an insurance claim for losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They delve into the challenges businesses face in understanding insurance contracts and the future of pandemic insurance. Lastly, they briefly mention how asteroids have killed people.

Mike Chase, author of 'How to Become a Federal Criminal' and the man behind the @CrimeADay Twitter account, discusses Congressman Devin Nunes suing people he doesn't agree with. They also explore cases of prisoners winning against cold turkey tactics and the meritorious claims of prisoners.

Join the hosts in a live recording of the podcast as they kick off with a trivia game about the upcoming Supreme Court term. Get a preview of important cases and cert petitions, including water rights, abortion restriction, disability discrimination, and the regulation of billboards. Explore the legal implications of emotional distress damages for disability discrimination, the impact on commercial speech, and the intersection of sovereign immunity and veterans' rights. Discuss the challenges of suing federal agents in cases of police accountability and the need for addressing the restrictive nature of bivens actions.

Ever rolled your tires to try and cover up the meter maid’s chalk mark? No, me neither . . . But even if you haven’t, you might not have to worry about tire chalk marks much longer. Josh Windham explains how the Sixth Circuit has said that’s an unreasonable search. And out West it turns out there’s so much law in Yellowstone National Park (the Wyoming bit, at least) that a camper gets out of an assault charge because of a law called the ACA (just not the one you’re thinking of). The camper didn’t commit the Perfect Crime, but Dan Alban talks about it while he’s in the district. Taylor v. City of Saginaw United States v. Harris Brian Kalt, The Perfect Crime C.J. Box, Free Fire Dan Alban, https://ij.org/staff/dalban/ Josh Windham, https://ij.org/staff/joshua-windham/ Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/

The Third Circuit allowed a Second Amendment case challenging Robinson Township’s new zoning ordinance to proceed. Did they town change their zoning laws just to prevent a gun club from fulling opening? Possibly, we’ll have to wait and see. But in the meantime, Andrew Ward walks us through this decision exploring just which level of scrutiny applies to Second Amendment challenges. And there was a very colorful dissent in the Ninth Circuit from Judge VanDyke. Patrick Jaicomo explains this dissent and its problems with the Ninth Circuit’s binding dicta rule. Drummond v. Robinson Township: https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/201722p.pdf Ford v. Peery: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/08/18/18-15498.pdf IJ’s Conference on the Will of the People: https://ij.org/event/does-the-will-of-the-people-actually-exist/ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iz26kyzdcpodkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to email us? shortcircuit@ij.org

Usually a “chill” on your freedom of speech is the easiest constitutional injury to prove. But in the Tenth Circuit it seems if you speak too much you’re not “chilled,” and therefore not “injured,” even if you’re breaking an unconstitutional law. Adam Shelton walks us through this chilling brain teaser. Meanwhile, when is competition “unfair”? Alexa Gervasi explains that in Massachusetts it was not unfair for Uber to compete against taxicabs when its own right to operate was, shall we say, a grey area. Plus, some nostalgia for the halcyon days of 2013 when getting in a ridesharing car was something you didn’t tell your mother. Click here for the transcript.

More on two of America’s favorite subjects this week. Josh House rejoins us as we analyze six separate opinions about one football coach. Josh last came on in the spring when the Ninth Circuit said the coach didn’t have a prayer. Although that ruling stands for now, a number of judges recently exercised their freedom to speak differently. And maybe it’s because of the name, but there’s a lot of Second Amendment law firing out of the Second Circuit. Adam Griffin explains how the court was on target in a case about individual versus collective rights. Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Short-Circuit-185_otter.ai-002-FINAL.pdf Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/07/19/20-35222.pdf (en banc) Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/03/18/20-35222.pdf (panel decision) Henry v. County of Nassau, https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/bd83884e-0f7c-40bf-8012-74caac7b31d8/9/doc/20-1027_opn.pdf#xml=https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/bd83884e-0f7c-40bf-8012-74caac7b31d8/9/hilite/ Episode on the Right to “Bear” Arms, https://ij.org/sc_podcast/174/ Josh House, https://ij.org/staff/joshua-house/ Adam Griffin, https://ij.org/staff/adam-griffin/ Anthony Sanders, https://ij.org/staff/asanders/ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/short-circuit/id309062019 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCqDbZTI7kIws11kEhed/overview Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/institute-for-justice/short-circuit Google: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iz26kyzdcpodkfm5cpz7rlvf76a Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/ Want to email us? shortcircuit@ij.org