Bound By Oath by IJ: Recent Episodes
Institute for Justice
Bound by Oath is a new podcast series by IJ’s Center for Judicial Engagement where the Constitution’s past catches up with the present. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution requires every judge to be “bound by Oath” to uphold “this Constitution.” But to understand if judges are following that oath, it’s important to ask, “What is in ‘this Constitution’?” In this upcoming podcast series, Short Circuit takes a deep dive into specific parts of the Constitution, starting with the 14th Amendment, which turned 150 in 2018. “Bound by Oath” features interviews with historians, legal scholars, and the real people involved in historic and contemporary cases.
In 2005, in the case of Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court allowed officials to seize and raze an entire neighborhood of well-maintained homes and businesses in the hopes that someone else could build fancier homes and businesses. According to the dissenters, the majority’s opinion effectively deleted the provision of the U.S. Constitution requiring that takings be for a “public use.” On this episode, we ask: what, if anything, is left of the prohibition on using eminent domain to take property from Person A merely to give it to Person B? And we look at some current litigation that can restore traditional limits on the government’s power of eminent domain.
Click here for transcript.
Kelo v. New London
Hawai’i Housing Authority v. Midkiff
On this episode: Berman v. Parker, the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to abandon previous constitutional limits on the government’s power to take property from Person A to give it to Person B. The decision greenlit the era of urban renewal, which saw over a thousand cities across the country seize and bulldoze entire neighborhoods en masse.
Click here for episode transcript.
Berman v. Parker
Schneider v. D.C.
On this episode, we take a break from case law and go way back to the beginning to examine the origins and justifications of private property.
Click here for episode transcript.
Tyler v. Hennepin County
On this episode we return to the subject of zoning. With the doors to federal courthouses barred shut, advocates for reforming zoning have turned to state courts and state constitutions. Most famously, in 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court took a look at a zoning ordinance that made it illegal to build low- and moderate-income housing in the township of Mount Laurel and said in no uncertain terms: enough. But the story of the Mount Laurel doctrine, which calls for municipalities to do their fair share to meet the regional demand for affordable housing, is not all milk and honey. Additionally, we take a look at some current efforts in other states to protect property rights under state constitutions.
Click here for Open Fields Conference
Click here for episode transcript.
Mount Laurel I (1975) and Mount Laurel II (1983)
Warth v. Seldin
Belle Terre v. Boraas
In 1926, in the case of Euclid v. Ambler, the Supreme Court upheld zoning, giving elected officials and city planners vast, new, and largely unchecked power to tell people what they can and cannot do with their own private property. On this episode: the story of the lawsuit that changed everything for American property rights plus the personalities who made it happen.
Click here for episode transcript.
Euclid v. Ambler (Supreme Court opinion)
Ambler v. Euclid (district court opinion)
Nectow v. Cambridge
On Episode 3, we journey back to a lost world: the world before zoning. And we take a look at a trio of historic property rights cases. In In re Lee Sing, San Francisco officials tried to wipe Chinatown off the map. In Buchanan v. Warley, Louisville, Ky. officials mapped out where in the city residents were allowed to live based on their race. And in Hadacheck v. Sebastian, a Los Angeles city councilman sought to use the police power to protect his real estate investments.
Click here for transcript.
In 1922, Scranton, Pennsylvania was said to be on the verge of collapsing into the vast coal mines beneath the city; residents, buildings, and streets alike were being swallowed up by “suddenly yawning chasms.” State legislators responded by unanimously passing a law meant to save the region, where about a million people lived, from total desolation. But when the law reached the Supreme Court, the justices struck it down, ruling that it would be an unconstitutional “regulatory taking” to force coal companies to leave their coal in the ground. On this episode, we go to nearby Pittston, Pennsylvania to find out what happened to the house at the center of the case. Did it—or Scranton—fall into the pits? After that, we trace the major developments in regulatory takings doctrine, which protect against regulations that go “too far.” But we wind up in a bit of a fog. Plus! This episode will have an unsolved murder—and some Supreme Court trivia: did you know a future Supreme Court justice argued the case on behalf of Scranton (at least in state court)?
Click here for transcript.
Pennsylvania Coal v. Mahon
Penn Central v. New York City
In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment’s protections against warrantless searches do not apply to “open fields.” Which means that government agents can jump over fences, ignore No Trespassing signs, and roam private land at will. There are no limits. On this episode, we talk to Richard and Linda Thornton, whose property in rural Maine was at the center of the case. And we ask: Can the Founders really have thought the Constitution did not protect private woods, fields, farms, and more from warrantless invasions?
Click here for transcript.
Oliver v. United States
Hester v. United States
With the doors to federal court closing on civil rights claims, this final episode of Season 2 heads to new terrain: state court. Click here for […]
The post State Remedies | SEASON 2, EP. 11 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 1983, in the case of Briscoe v. LaHue, the Supreme Court ruled that government employees who commit perjury at trial are absolutely immune from […]
The post Prosecutors, Perjurers, and Other Non-Persons — Part 2 | Season 2, Ep. 10 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 2005, Charles Rehberg annoyed some politically powerful people in his community of Albany, Georgia, and found himself facing serious criminal charges—charges that were completely […]
The post Prosecutors, Perjurers, and Other Non-Persons — Part 1 | Season 2, Ep. 10 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
On this episode, we take stock of developments in the courts and in Congress since this season began. There’s an update on the first case […]
The post Closing the Courthouse Doors | Season 2, Ep. 9 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Section 1983 says that “every person” acting under color of state law shall be liable for violating the Constitution. But in 1951, the Supreme Court […]
The post Persons Who Are Not “Persons” | Season 2, Ep. 8 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 1978, the Supreme Court held that individuals can sue local governments for constitutional violations in federal court. Indeed, the Court held that Congress had […]
The post The Shooting of Bobby Moore — Part 2 | Season 2, Ep. 7 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 2012, Little Rock police officer Josh Hastings shot and killed 15-year-old Bobby Moore and lied about how it happened. Hastings had a long history […]
The post The Shooting of Bobby Moore — Part 1 | Season 2, Ep. 7 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 1967, the Supreme Court invented qualified immunity. And in 1982, the Court transformed the doctrine into the one we have today. On this episode, […]
The post Pierson to Pearson | Season 2, Ep. 6 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In Chicago in 1958, over a dozen police officers barged into the home of a sleeping family with guns drawn. They didn’t have a warrant, […]
The post Under Color of Law | Season 2, Ep. 5 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Section 1983 is one of the most important civil rights laws on the books; tens of thousands of plaintiffs file Section 1983 cases each year […]
The post Outrage Legislation | Season 2, Ep. 4 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
By any measure, the conditions that Lee Saunders endured in the psych unit at the Brevard County jail in Florida were shockingly inhumane. But when […]
The post The Bubble | Season 2, Ep. 3 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
For victims of government misconduct, whether you can sue the officials who violated your constitutional rights often depends on whether the officials are federal, state, […]
The post Death By a Thousand Cuts | Season 2, Ep. 2 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 2014, two members of a joint state-federal fugitive task force beat up an innocent college student, James King, after mistaking him for a suspect […]
The post They’re Going to Kill This Man | Season 2, Ep. 1 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Why is it so hard to sue officials who violate the Constitution? Season 2 of Bound By Oath is coming soon. Click here for transcript. […]
The post Trailer: Season 2 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Prohibitions on excessive fines date back at least as far as Magna Carta in 1215, and the U.S. Constitution has barred excessive fines since 1791. […]
The post Episode 9 – Excessive Fines appeared first on Institute for Justice.
On January 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in an IJ case, Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue. At issue is […]
The post Special Episode: Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue appeared first on Institute for Justice.
If the government is going to take away life, liberty, or property, the due process of law requires it to follow fair procedures. But, according […]
The post Substantive Due Process | Episode 8 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
In 1842, the city of New Orleans prosecuted Father Bernard Permoli, a Catholic priest, for conducting an open casket funeral. A violation of the Free […]
The post Incorporation, the Lack Thereof | Episode 7 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Before the government can take away your life, liberty, or property, it must first give you due process: fair and meaningful procedure. On this episode, […]
The post Procedural Due Process | Episode 6 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
After the Civil War, what many Americans needed most was protection from violence. That’s what the Equal Protection Clause was meant to guarantee, but today […]
The post Tangled: The Equal Protection Clause | Episode 5 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
[Click here for Episode 1.] In 1873, the Supreme Court said that the Privileges or Immunities Clause protects a right to “use the navigable waters of […]
The post The Navigable Waters | Episode 4 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
[Click here for Episode 1. And click here for Episode 2.] The Privileges or Immunities Clause was meant to be one of the key liberty-protecting […]
The post All But Redacted: The Privileges or Immunities Clause | Episode 3 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
At the close of the Civil War, some 4 million slaves became free. But almost immediately after hostilities ceased, leaders in the ex-Confederate states began […]
The post The Fight for the 14th | Episode 2 appeared first on Institute for Justice.
Name just about any modern constitutional controversy—abortion, civil forfeiture, gun rights, immigration, etc.—and chances are that the Fourteenth Amendment is playing a big part. After […]
The post Before the 14th: John Rock and the Birth of Birthright Citizenship | Episode 1 appeared first on Institute for Justice.