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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 415 | Originalism at Stanford

    Short Circuit 415 | Originalism at Stanford
    Feb 13 2026
    An all-star conversation among Stanford professors, recorded live before Stanford students, about originalism and how it interacts with recent cases from the federal courts of appeals. Anya Bidwell hosts Jud Campbell, Jonathan Gienapp, and Orin Kerr on topics such as what originalism is, how to think about the Fourth Amendment when making originalist arguments, what levels of generality have to do with how courts are approaching history, what is the state of play after Bruen, and how everything went wrong after Erie. NRA v. Bondi (en banc) Texas v. Bondi (panel) U.S. v. Wilson
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Short Circuit 414 | Should You Sue YouTube or Work With It?

    Short Circuit 414 | Should You Sue YouTube or Work With It?
    Feb 6 2026
    If you own rights to movies or shows and would prefer them to not end up on YouTube for free this is an episode for you. Dan Knepper of IJ explains how the owner of some classic Mexican films tried to deal with the problem of the films ending up on YouTube. A recent Eleventh Circuit opinion tackled the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and how YouTube tries to deal with the problem of users putting copyrighted material on its site when they don’t have permission. As you might imagine it is a complicated process. If you want YouTube’s help in tracking what goes up on the site then you have to agree not to sue YouTube. Otherwise you can try and track things yourself and retain the right to sue but it turns out that’s quite difficult. Some of this has to do with the “red flag” test. Dan explains how this messy world works and how the court broke with the top legal treatise in the area. Then, IJ’s Sophia Henderson takes us to the beach and, unfortunately, a monopoly. The city of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., gave a monopoly to itself to set up beach equipment for beach patrons. A competitor who was boxed out of the industry sued and instead of making a constitutional case of it argued that the city was violating federal antitrust law. The question then became was the city immune because it is a state actor. In the end, the Fourth Circuit tells us that monopoly wins. Athos Overseas v. YouTube Cherry Grove Beach Gear v. North Myrtle Beach
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    42 mins
  • Short Circuit 413 | Economic Freedom, History, and Tradition

    Short Circuit 413 | Economic Freedom, History, and Tradition
    Jan 30 2026
    IJ’s John Wrench journeys to New Orleans to chat with some legal scholars on their recent work on all kinds of IJ-adjacent questions, especially as they relate to the American Founding. This includes economic liberty at the Founding, legal interpretation at the Founding, and “history and tradition” and constitutional rights. Between sessions at the Association of American Law Schools conference John reconnoiters with Kenneth Rosen of the University of Alabama and separately with Jonathan Green of Arizona State and Ryan Snyder of the University of Missouri. These conversations will give you a snapshot of cutting edge work about some of the Constitution’s perennial issues. Historical Practice at the Founding Some Traditional Questions About “History and Tradition”
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    1 hr and 13 mins
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