login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
About The Volokh Conspiracy Editorial Independence Who we are Books Volokh Daily Email Archives Search DMCA RSS
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
An iPod, a walrus, and the Almighty Vice Lord Nation.
John Ross | 7.24.2026 3:33 PM
Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.
Victory! This week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the "open fields doctrine" under its state constitution, ruling in favor of IJ's clients the Punxsutawney and Pitch Pine hunting clubs. They challenged warrantless searches of their property by state gov't agents. At the federal level, the doctrine allows searches of private land without a warrant. As a result, about 96% of all private land in the country is exposed to warrantless searches and surveillance. Pennsylvania had followed the doctrine but the court found its precedent failed to protect the rights of our clients and everyone else in Pennsylvania.
New cert grant! Since 2012, the state of Alaska has been trying to permanently forfeit Ken Jouppi's $95,000 airplane after he transported a passenger carrying a six-pack. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide if it can. For decades, Ken flew his Cessna across the Alaskan wilderness, shuttling locals and tourists who depend on bush pilots like him. Then, state troopers found some Budweiser tucked in a passenger's luggage. Ken and the passenger were charged with misdemeanors, fined $1,500, and sentenced to 3 days in jail. But Alaska tried to take his plane too. Now, the Court will decide whether taking a man's plane over a six-pack is an unconstitutionally excessive fine.
New on the Short Circuit podcast: Men in black and Presidents in ultra vires.
Don't leak a President's tax returns or you could go to prison for a while, the D.C. Circuit informs us. It also informs us that even though this particular crime occurred in 2017, the defendant housed the data on, among other devices, an iPod. Footnote 2: "Yes, iPod, not iPad." How do things work at the NLRB now that the Chevron doctrine has "run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible"? NLRB: Congress has provided us with policymaking authority so we still get to do a lot of what we want. D.C. Circuit: But not here. Dissent: Chevron is gone but it wasn't everything to do with agency discretion. After the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, the U.S. established a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi to help the country transition from a dictatorial regime to a democracy. An Islamic militant group attacked the outpost in 2012, killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. The militiaman who helped lead the attack is captured, sentenced to 22 years in prison. D.C. Circuit (2022): Shockingly light, try again. District court: Okay, 28 years. D.C. Circuit (2026): The sentencing court's discretion is vast—but not this vast. He's a terrorist whose only stated regret is that every American there wasn't killed. He needs a much longer sentence. Russian auditor of $4 bil hedge fund stumbles onto a tax-fraud scheme........© Reason.com
visit website