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Short Circuit

Short Circuit

By: Institute for Justice
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The Supreme Court decides a few dozen cases every year; federal appellate courts decide thousands. So if you love constitutional law, the circuit courts are where it’s at. Join us as we break down some of the week’s most intriguing appellate decisions with a unique brand of insight, wit, and passion for judicial engagement and the rule of law. http://ij.org/short-circuit© Institute for Justice Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Short Circuit 428 | Shopping With Roy Moore

    Short Circuit 428 | Shopping With Roy Moore
    May 15 2026
    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 Mall several decades before. And, further, that there were allegations that he was banned from the mall because of his friendliness with teenage girls. Include one who at one point was “Santa’s little helper.” After losing that race, Moore brought a defamation suit against the purveyors of a political ad that mentioned these mall/teenage girl allegations in a certain, perhaps misleading, order. And he won. Except, the Eleventh Circuit has now reviewed the matter and ruled that under the First Amendment’s protective standard for speech concerning public figures, Moore actually lost. Suranjan Sen of IJ details the wacky story and the mysteries of “actual malice” and defamation by implication. Then, IJ’s Prashanta Augustine details an en banc denial in the Fifth Circuit where the judges decided not to take up a challenge to the federal ban on machine guns. Even though the full court dodges the issue some judges indicate they think there would be meritorious Second Amendment challenges to the law in the future. And one even suggests there could be a Commerce Clause challenge as well. Moore v. Cecil U.S. v. Wilson (en banc denial) U.S. v. Wilson (3 judge panel) 2003 Ninth Circuit machine guns opinion
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    51 mins
  • Short Circuit 429 | A Fifth of Circuit

    Short Circuit 429 | A Fifth of Circuit
    May 22 2026
    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 hesitate from such an undertaking. But true fans of the federal courts of appeals should be pleased, as we take an even closer look than we have before at the ins-and-outs of the federal circuit for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. To help us we welcome on Jessica Underwood, a former Fifth Circuit clerk and now an attorney in Austin, Texas. She reports on a recent Fifth Circuit case on the False Claims Act, explains what the FCA does, and how it accounts for billions of dollars in litigation. In addition to discussing the court’s analysis of what makes for a proper FCA claim, Jessica digs into a concurrence that argues the FCA might be unconstitutional. Then, IJ’s Christie Hebert tells us of another recent Fifth Circuit opinion, this one about a guy who made a living transmitting public data about criminal defendants to potential defense attorneys. That worked well until the court started making some of the information private. Did he have a claim? No, it turns out. But the discussion gets into how the First Amendment might apply—sometimes—to information in the hands of the government. Montcrief v. Peripheral Vascular Assocs. Martin v. Burgess IJ’s Private Enforcement case in Colorado Episode with Tom Metzloff on the split of the Fifth
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    59 mins
  • Short Circuit 427 | Michigander Administrations

    Short Circuit 427 | Michigander Administrations
    May 8 2026
    Live from the University of Michigan we bring you the latest in administrative law with some of the top scholars and practitioners in the field. It’s Short Circuit’s first time at the home of the Wolverines and the first time we focus the law of administration—and all the constitutional angles that go along with it. We hear from Professors Nicholas Bagley and Christopher Walker of Michigan Law and from Zachary Larsen, a Michigan attorney who specializes in administrative law. The cases include rulings from the Second, Sixth, and D.C. Circuits over immigration, occupational licensing, and labor relations. Plus, we actually answer the question “what is administrative law, anyway?” Mullin v. Doe Paul v. FAA Brown-Forman v. NLRB Chenery II
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    54 mins
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