Short Circuit

The U.S. government seized over $600,000 from a business, tried to forfeit the money, never filed criminal charges against anyone, and then three years later said “nevermind!” and dismissed the case and gave the money back. At the same time, the business was trying to find out what was in the original warrant applications for the seizure. Is the case over, or can the business keep working to see what the secret documents say? Dan Alban of IJ gives us the scoop in this case from the Sixth Circuit. Then, IJ’s McCarley Maddock tells us about the latest NCAA antitrust drama. A college football player transferred around to a few different schools and along the way played a year at a junior college. The problem for him was that year counted against his eligibility. But is that rule an antitrust violation? The Third Circuit says that, like with the French Revolution, it’s too early to tell. California Palms v. U.S. Elad v. NCAA Short Circuit on baseball and antitrust

What happens if you sue your employer and your boss’s boss is a federal judge? It’s kind of complicated. Aliza Shatzman of the Legal Accountability Project rejoins us to detail a recent Fourth Circuit case where an employee who worked in a federal public defender’s office alleged she was sexually harassed and then sued about it. It’s the first case of its kind and gives a window into how employment complaints work within the Article III branch. Aliza also talks about her ongoing work at the Legal Accountability Project and their clerkship database. Then, IJ’s Katrin Marquez tells us a most unpleasant story about a woman who went through TSA screening. The woman then tried to use the Federal Tort Claims Act but the federal government claimed she couldn’t because TSA officers aren’t “law enforcement.” The Eleventh Circuit said “really?” and has now allowed the case to move forward. Strickland v. U.S. Koletas v. U.S. Legal Accountability Project The FTCA and the Military

Can a city require you to get a permit if you’re having a few people over to pray? In an Ohio town it was a little unclear. As IJ’s Suranjan Sen explains, an Orthodox Jewish man wanted to have enough people over that he could hold a proper service for the Sabbath. There was no worry about traffic and parking because Orthodox Jews don’t drive on the Sabbath. But that didn’t prevent a neighbor from complaining anyway. Things got confusing at city hall, though, where some officials weren’t even sure the man needed a “house of worship” permit. Even so, he went to federal court, ended up in the Sixth Circuit, and got dismissed because the case as not ripe. Along the way there’s a lot of talk about facial vs. as-applied claims and how land use is weird. Then we go to Tate Cooper of IJ with a couple subjects we’ve specialized in on Short Circuit over the years: drones and free speech. This time they’re together in a bit of a new way. A company provides a service to hunters for drones to help them find their prey after an animal has been shot. Michigan law forbids this. Is that a restriction on “speech” and a First Amendment violation because the drone is sending information to the hunter and the law only applies to the drone if it is “speaking”? The Sixth Circuit says no via some unclear reasoning. A lot of that is because of unclear Supreme Court cases which (perhaps?) might be cleared up a bit sometime soon. Grand v. University Heights Yoder v. Bowen (3 judge panel) Yoder v. Bowen (en banc denial) Williamson County Planning v. Hamilton Bank Sorrell v. IMS Health

In a special episode, IJ’s Anya Bidwell interviews Matteo Godi of USC Law about his new article “Section 1983: A Strict Liability Statutory Tort.” Professor Godi provocatively argues that the basis of most modern civil rights litigation—originally part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 and today known as “Section 1983”—should be interpreted as a strict liability cause of action. Anya has him discuss how the Supreme Court has erroneously imposed state-of-mind requirements in civil rights litigation in sharp contrast to the original scheme that he contends the Reconstruction Congress designed. Qualified immunity is one, but only one, example stemming from this error. The interview also covers additional recent developments in scholarship about Section 1983 and how Professor Godi’s proposal would work as a practical matter. Section 1983: A Strict Liability Statutory Tort Villarreal en banc with Oldham concurrence

We’re joined by Reb Masel, a California lawyer who tries to keep the law fun while educating the public about how it works. She’s apparently pretty good at it as she has a zillion followers across various platforms. She drops in to share her thoughts about a Fifth Circuit case concerning a little bit of moonshine. And years of pretrial detention. Did that detention deny the defendant a speedy trial? The court agrees, but only after further years of litigation. Then IJ’s Bobbi Taylor describes a marijuana and cash heist that goes poorly. How poorly? One defendant didn’t even “obtain” any of the pot or money. So can he be subject to a forfeiture order? The Second Circuit rules in his favor—although he still has plenty of other legal problems. Berryman v. Huffman Elias v. Hytmiah Georgia man in pretrial detention for 10+ years Reb’s video on The Onion’s amicus brief The Book They Throw at You Reb’s TikTok

The balance between free speech, campus order, and fighting antisemitism has been a major flashpoint the last couple of years and it just hit the First Circuit in a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The case concerns protests and encampments at MIT’s campus in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel. The legal questions concern MIT’s responsibilities in light of taking federal funds. Michael Peña of IJ details what the court considered and where it came out. Then, IJ’s Arif Panju bring us to New Orleans for a short vacation. The city tried to restrict short term rentals to only those owned by “natural persons,” not ordinary people who use LLCs or other corporate forms. This was in response to losing the first round of the same case a few years ago under a dormant Commerce Clause challenge. The Fifth Circuit, again, found the city’s efforts unconstitutional in some ways, but most interestingly here it found the natural person/LLC distinction failed the rational basis test. In doing so, it relied on an IJ victory, also in the Fifth Circuit. Click here for transcript. Stand With Us Center for Legal Justice v. MIT Hignell-Stark v. New Orleans Short Circuit 235 (on earlier Fifth Circuit ruling) IJ’s amicus brief in the New Braunfels case

If you think you’ve worked in a bad job you might want to first hear the first case we have this week, brought to you by IJ’s Michael Soyfer. It might give you a bit of cheerful perspective. An employee was out with Covid when suddenly her employer needed her password for an urgent task. She shared it with a coworker friend which then got the job done. Months later, though, the two workers left the company and sued for sexual harassment. In return, the employer sued them for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a law passed in 1986 in a simpler computing time. The end result, courtesy of the Third Circuit, is that the women did not commit a crime and their harassment claims could proceed. (If they had committed a crime then so might many of us.) Then Sam Gedge of IJ updates us on his Younger abstention quest. A group of physicians were disciplined for saying things about the Covid vaccine that Washington State officials did not like. So they sued those officials to vindicate their rights. But the Ninth Circuit said their claims could not go forward because, among other reasons, there were ongoing matters in a state agency and also because there were matters that weren’t in a state agency. Confused? Sam will try and unconfuse you. Click here for transcript. NRA Group v. Durenleau Stockton v. Brown Short Circuit Younger 50th Anniversary episode Orin Kerr amicus on the CFAA IJ’s case for psychologist John Rosemond IJ’s “caveman blogger” case

It’s Short Circuit Live from Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University with a D.C. Circuit special! We review opinions from a court that “many people are saying” is the second-most-important in the land.  With a full state of very special guests: GMU’s own Todd Zywicki, Casey Norman of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, and IJ’s own Bob Belden. Professor Zywicki discusses a pair of recent D.C. Circuit rulings on attempted firings at the FTC and the Federal Reverse that revolve around the fate of Humphrey’s Executor. Then, Casey shares a saga of the reporter’s privilege under the First Amendment and how it can conflict with the Privacy Act. Finally, Bob asks who wants to be a millionaire? (If you do, turns out a good path is narcing on a Wall Street firm for underpayment of taxes while filing the correct IRS form.) Click here for transcript. Slaughter v. Trump (D.C. Circuit denial of stay) Cook v. Trump (D.C. Circuit denial of stay) Trump v. Slaughter (SCOTUS grant of stay) Chen v. FBI In re: Sealed Case Short Circuit 214 (D.C. Circuit special)

“Religion” and “fact checks” don’t normally go together. But an employer did so when some employees tried to obtain a religious accommodation from a COVID vaccine requirement. Matt Liles of IJ explains that the employer didn’t exactly “fact check” religion itself, but tried to point out that other religious leaders were OK with the vaccine and so should the employees. This all ends up in federal court under Title VII where the Sixth Circuit has to fix some errors in the district court and straighten out how Title VII works. The court also hints that the way to deal with religious accommodations isn’t to use “fact checks.” Then IJ’s Christian Lansinger brings us to the Eight Circuit where 3M—famous for Scotch tape and Post-its—was fighting with the IRS over how much money it owed via its Brazilian subsidiary. The fight revolved around an IRS regulation and how much deference to give the agency in interpreting a Congressional statute. That all changed last year at the Supreme Court with the overturning of the Chevron doctrine. How does the IRS do in this brave new world? Not well, it turns out. Click here for transcript. Bilyeu v. UT-Battelle 3M v. Commissioner Loper Bright Enters. V. Raimondo IJ’s IRS and tax preparers case

Dropping on First Monday, the Supreme Court’s first day of the October 2025 term, it’s our annual Supreme Court preview, recorded live at the University of North Carolina. Re-joining us after a very long hiatus is Sheldon Gilbert, the original host of the very first preview and very first Short Circuit Live, way back when he was the Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement. That is, back when he was a Younger Sheldon. These days he has the fancy-pants job of CEO and President of the Federalist Society. But he’s returned for old times’ sake and also to follow what seems to be the occupation of his calling—a game show host. Sheldon welcomes Justin Pearson of IJ and Interim Dean Andy Hessick of UNC Law for a bit of SCOTUS trivia and a review of some of the term’s biggest cases. Get ready for substance v. procedure, the Heck bar, civil forfeiture, and unconstitutional conditions. Plus, things you never knew—or never even fathomed you never knew—about Erie Railroad v. Tompkins. This is the way we Leeroy Jenkins at Short Circuit. Click here for transcript. Berk v. Choy Oliver v. City of Brandon Jouppi v. Alaska La Anyane v. Georgia The Ballad of Harry Tompkins The Very First Short Circuit Live (with Younger Sheldon and Younger Justin) Leeroy Jenkins!