What is Short Circuit?
Short Circuit is your concise (and sometimes irreverent) source for important and interesting cases and legal stories you might otherwise have missed.
Launched by the Institute for Justice (IJ) in 2015, Short Circuit started off as a short weekly newsletter rounding up the most interesting developments in the federal circuit courts of appeal as well as a weekly podcast digging into a couple recent particularly noteworthy cases.
Today, as part of IJ’s Center for Judicial Engagement, and with the newsletter and flagship podcast still going strong, Short Circuit also includes our legal history documentary podcast Bound By Oath, now in its third season, and our monthly roundtable podcast Unpublished Opinions. We also hold live shows (contact us if you’re interested in hosting one) and other events. Wherever and whoever you are there’s plenty of options to get engaged.
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Bound By Oath
Trust But Verify | Season 3, Ep. 12

In 1973, federal narcotics agents raided a pair of homes in Collinsville, Illinois by mistake. They didn’t find any drugs, but they did terrorize two […]
Listen NowShort Circuit
Short Circuit 377 | Zen and the Art of the Nondelegation Doctrine

Sometimes a short ride goes a long way. Casey Mattox of Stand Together comes on to tell us how a dirt biker in Nevada may […]
Listen NowUnpublished Opinions
Unpublished Opinions 15 | The Oz Machine

Done with oral argument at SCOTUS in Martin v. United States, Patrick Jaicomo and Anya Bidwell rejoin the rotation to yell at clouds and, along […]
Listen NowRecent Newsletters

Helicopter accidents, nasty feuds, and serial lies.
Not in my backyard! In which IJ goes full NIMBY: IJ client Dalton Boley used to enjoy camping with his three little boys in the 10-acre woods immediately behind his house. That is, until he…