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Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.

New cert petition: The IRS wants to impose a $2.17 mil civil penalty on an octogenarian from Massachusetts, and she wants to argue that it's a violation of the Excessive Fines Clause. But earlier this year, the First Circuit said there's no need to consider whether the penalty (for failing to timely file a bank-account form) might be a tad excessive because—said the court—the penalty "is not a 'fine'" under the Eighth Amendment. Boom. Case closed. This week, IJ asked the Supreme Court to tell the First Circuit and the IRS (and a bevy of trial courts) to start taking the Excessive Fines Clause seriously. Click here to learn more about the case.

Big Sky friends, Short Circuit Live! is heading to the University of Montana on September 15th for a live recording at the law school. Co-hosted by the Federalist Society and the American Constitution Society, the event will focus on the Montana Supreme Court and will feature Natasha Prinzing Jones of Boone Karlberg P.C. (who argued on behalf of amici in a case you may remember from last week's roundup), Colin Stephens of Stephens Brooke P.C., and Rylee Sommers-Flanagan of Upper Seven Law. Hope to see you there!

Last year, New Yorker Serafim Katergaris discovered that the city had fined him $1k for missing paperwork about a 2013 boiler inspection. One problem: He bought the home in 2014 after the boiler had been removed, so the paperwork would've been required of a previous owner. Serafim explained this, but the city declined to waive the fine. The city also refused to give him a hearing or a chance to appeal. Instead, the city simply demanded that he pay. Unfortunately, this is a common practice for NYC, which frequently demands penalties for supposed violations of its property codes without providing an opportunity to be heard. So this week, Serafim teamed up with IJ to challenge the city's brazen violation of his due process rights. After all, no process cannot be due process. Learn more here.

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NEXT: New #TheyLied Libel-by-Implication Case, Related to Firing of Service Employees International Union Official

John Ross is the editor of the Short Circuit newsletter and the producer of the Bound By Oath podcast, two incomparable projects of surpassing importance from the Institute for Justice.

Brian Doherty | From the October 2022 issue

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