Podcasts Archive
Short Circuit 167 | Section 230 and a Drones Search
We get a little high-tech this week. Techdirt founder Mike Masnick joins us to explain how Section 230 actually works, and how it was somewhat […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 166 | To En Banc or Not to En Banc
The 10th Circuit just can’t make up its mind. You might say it doesn’t know a hawk from a handsaw. Listen to a tale from […]
Listen NowTalking to a Client in the Wrong Location Makes This Counselor a Criminal
Restrictions on teletherapy hurt people and violate the First Amendment
Elizabeth Brokamp is a professional counselor who just wants to help people at a time when many Americans need it more than ever. But if […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 165 | Orphaned Precedent
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 164 | Bad Cop Records and Suspicionless Searches
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. […]
Listen NowUnder Color of Law | Season 2, Ep. 5
In Chicago in 1958, over a dozen police officers barged into the home of a sleeping family with guns drawn. They didn’t have a warrant, […]
Listen NowUses (and Misuses) of Amicus Briefs | (A Deep Dive Best Of)
The Whys, Whens, and Hows of Being a Friend of the Court
IJ Senior Attorneys Robert McNamara and Paul Sherman discuss amicus briefs: what they are, where they came from, and how IJ—and others—use them for maximum […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 163 | The Law of Johnny 5 Is Alive
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, […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 162 | I Will Get Credit When I Crush You
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 […]
Listen NowCensorship, Dangerous Speech, and Monopolies
Why a modern day Fairness Doctrine isn’t the solution, what Section 230 really does, and what the current debate has to do with free speech, property rights, and even shopping malls in the 1980s
Big technology companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook have come under scrutiny for the ways they are—and are not—controlling speech on their platforms. In today’s […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 161 | A Honkload of Stateless Cocaine
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 160 | The Dominion of Giuliani and Citizenship Receptions
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 […]
Listen NowSecurity Guards Assault Innocent Vet at the VA—and Claim Immunity
An outrageous decision from the 5th Circuit threatens his rights—and those of everyone in three states
What should have been a routine dental appointment at his local VA took a frightening turn for 70-year-old Jose Oliva when security guards tackled him […]
Listen NowOutrage Legislation | Season 2, Ep. 4
Section 1983 is one of the most important civil rights laws on the books; tens of thousands of plaintiffs file Section 1983 cases each year […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 159: The Sub-Rational Basis Test
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 […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 158 | Privileges or Immunities and Consent Decrees
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. […]
Listen NowThis Is What Happens When States Abolish Civil Forfeiture
Research shows that policing for profit is a big problem—but it’s one that states can fix
In 2015, New Mexico abolished a controversial practice known as civil forfeiture. Critics of the reform claimed it would be a gift to criminals, increasing […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 157 | State Constitutionalists Are the Veterinarians of Law
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 […]
Listen NowQualified Immunity: Are Government Officials Above the Law? (A Deep Dive Best Of)
How Government Officials Can Blow Up Your House with Grenades—and Get Away With It by Claiming Immunity
Over the past several months, a national spotlight has been on the doctrine of qualified immunity. Although much of the recent focus has been on […]
Listen NowProperty Rights and Homeless Shelters—What Has the Supreme Court Said?
How one local government board is trying to stop people from helping the homeless—and what the law says about whether they can
The Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter is the only option for people experiencing temporary homelessness in all of Wilkes County, North Carolina. It’s been […]
Listen NowThe Bubble | Season 2, Ep. 3
By any measure, the conditions that Lee Saunders endured in the psych unit at the Brevard County jail in Florida were shockingly inhumane. But when […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 156 | The Navigable Waters, Recording Cops, and People in Church
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 […]
Listen NowWhen Can the Government Lock You in Your House? (A Deep Dive Best Of)
Revisiting “Quarantines and the Constitution”
With new lockdowns happening all over the country and internationally, we want to revisit the government’s use of police power. Just what does your state […]
Listen NowDeath By a Thousand Cuts | Season 2, Ep. 2
For victims of government misconduct, whether you can sue the officials who violated your constitutional rights often depends on whether the officials are federal, state, […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 155 | Only 160 Felonies
The first two items in the Bill of Rights get top billing. Does a nine-year-old felony conviction for tax fraud justify continuing to deny someone […]
Listen NowCity Officials Threw an Elderly Woman in Jail for Criticizing Them—Then Claimed Immunity
How one Texas town retaliated against a citizen for trying to improve her community
Special investigators, trumped up charges, and a night in jail. What happened to Sylvia Gonzalez is truly outrageous—and the local government’s reaction to her efforts […]
Listen NowShort Circuit 154 | Class action coupons and a building for Buddhists
Class action expert Ted Frank joins to discuss a Ninth Circuit case where the court didn’t think giving class members crummy coupons warranted almost $15 […]
Listen NowThey're Going to Kill This Man | Season 2, Ep. 1
In 2014, two members of a joint state-federal fugitive task force beat up an innocent college student, James King, after mistaking him for a suspect […]
Listen NowTrailer: Season 2
Why is it so hard to sue officials who violate the Constitution? Season 2 of Bound By Oath is coming soon. Click here for transcript. […]
Listen NowCan the Government Require Warning Labels for Veggie Burgers?
Why the First Amendment should protect the way companies talk about their products
In 2020, debates about veggie burgers and almond milk may sound like small potatoes. But controversies about how the government can regulate the way that […]
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