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Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
The Volokh Conspiracy
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Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Financial surveillance, impaired contracts, and games of gotcha.
John Ross | 7.17.2026 3:30 PM
Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.
New on the Short Circuit podcast: Privately nondelegating horse puns.
In 2020, the U.S. Postal Service made a number of changes that reduced service. New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii sue, alleging that the changes will impede voting by mail. The district court enjoins the changes. D.C. Circuit: No jurisdiction. Congress said you have to take these challenges to the Postal Regulatory Commission first. Rhode Island, like many states, limits a motor vehicle manufacturer's ability to establish a new dealership near one of its existing in-state dealerships. Unlike other states, Rhode Island law extends this limit to new dealerships established in neighboring states. First Circuit: That sort of extraterritorial regulation violates the Dormant Commerce Clause. Agents in Puerto Rico seize a man's phone via a search warrant for an iPhone 6s. There is bad stuff on the phone. Oof! Turns out the phone they searched is an iPhone 13. Agents: Good-faith exception applies. It was an iPhone linked to the same phone number. First Circuit: The 6s and 13 aren't even the same size, and the agents realized they had the wrong phone at the time. Motion to suppress affirmed. A few years back IJ won a case at SCOTUS, forcing Maine to offer private school tuition without discriminating against religious education. Now in a non-IJ case, the First Circuit has confronted a follow-up question: What strings can the state place on that aid that might come into conflict with a religious school's mission? Over the course of well over 100 pages, in two opinions, the court largely upholds the denial of the schools' motions for preliminary injunctions, although one school succeeds in obtaining a PI regarding one religious liberty claim. Bonus: Pullman abstention goes down in flames repeatedly. Jamaican man fighting deportation asks for bail so he can receive kidney dialysis. Second Circuit: Without getting to the merits of his pending habeas appeal, he should be temporarily released for treatment. Dissent: He can get treatment in Jamaica via a self deport. New York City........© Reason.com
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