Short Circuit

Time for The Big One. So many have so many takes on the Ninth Circuit that, as part of our #12Months12Circuits series, we at IJ had to add our own. It’s the mega-circuit that encompasses all of the West Coast, much of the Mountain West, Alaska, Hawaii, and even Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. IJ’s Paul Avelar, who lives in the circuit, and Ben Field, who clerked there,...

Another circuit recognizes a there’s a First Amendment right to record the police. In this case, a “First Amendment auditor” stood on a public sidewalk and recorded the outside of a police station for six-and-a-half minutes. That’s protected, says the Second Circuit. So far, so good. But, explains IJ’s Jared McClain, the fact the right exists wasn’t exactly clear to the offic...

In our #12Months12Circuits series a nation turns its lonely eyes to the heartland. The true middle of America. The Eighth Circuit. We’re joined by true Eighth Circuit expert Aaron Van Oort, who has argued twenty-five times before that court and been a part of many other appeals. Aaron, who is based in Minneapolis, offers his advice about what makes the circuit stand out and w...

Tragedy and comedy, from the Fifth Circuit and then from the Tenth. First, Patrick Jaicomo of IJ describes how the police in Loredo, Texas mistakenly shot an innocent man. The plaintiff, who was hit in the abdomen but lived, was escaping a house where the real suspect was terrorizing his family. He grabbed the suspect’s gun, ran out of the house, held the weapon above his hea...

We often hear of the right to speak. But what about the right to listen? The Ninth Circuit just reaffirmed that listeners have First Amendment rights too and that, like speakers, they can challenge censorship in court. Justin Pearson of IJ reports on a case he himself is litigating on behalf of both a listener and a speaker against the federal government. Th...