Short Circuit

When you pay your bail money it’s a good practice to get a receipt. A woman in Mississippi found that out the hard way when she was arrested on pretty shaky grounds and then told she had to pay up or stay in jail. Her sister paid the $1,300+ the next day and then a long time later was never told to come back to court. She then sued for civil rights violations. But then the government claimed she had been found “guilty” and that money she paid had in fact been payment of the resulting fine. What? Marco Vasquez of IJ details this Fifth Circuit case and why the court didn’t address the merits because it had been prematurely appealed. Then IJ’s Riley Grace Borden updates us on a religious liberty matter in the Ninth Circuit concerning how expansive the First Amendment’s protection of church autonomy is. The doctrine applies to how houses of worship hire their ministers and similar officials but also extends to other church employees. How much? The court is careful to say it goes further but is careful to limit ho