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Lawsuit Challenges SEC Gag Order and Book Ban

January 9, 2019

Florida Supreme Court Ends Challenge to Scholarship Programs

January 4, 2019

Less than 1% of 8,000 charities rated have received at least 17 consecutive 4-star ratings

Charleston Appeals Federal Decision Striking Down Tour Guide Licensing Law

Institute for Justice, which represented would-be tour guides, comments on continuing legal battle

Charleston, S.C.—Yesterday, attorneys for the City of Charleston appealed an August 2018 federal court ruling that struck down the city’s tour guide license. The licensing law was challenged by three would-be tour guides—Kimberly Billups, Michael Warfield and Michael Nolan—who joined with the Institute for Justice (IJ) in January of 2016 to file a lawsuit alleging…

Amicus Briefs Make Case For Newcomers & Against Cartels In U.S. Supreme Court Case

Among the Themes: States may not discriminate against newcomers. The U.S. Constitution has many provisions designed to prevent anticompetitive efforts like Tennessee’s. Bottleneckers—like the Retailers Association—are self-serving institutions that use the government’s power to keep their prices high, thereby hurting consumers and would-be entrepreneurs alike. Arlington, Va.—On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court…

Lawsuit Challenges SEC Gag Order and Book Ban

Institute for Justice represents Cato Institute in First Amendment lawsuit to end SEC’s imposition of unconstitutional settlement gag orders

This press release and the lawsuit it announces are subject to a gag order imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prohibiting us from telling you the story of ████████, an American entrepreneur who, as he tells it, was the victim of an overzealous government investigation. Although the SEC agreed to settle his case…

New Jersey Appellate Court Curtails Eminent Domain Power

State Court Holds That Government Must Demonstrate Property Is “Necessary” Before Condemning Private Property

Arlington, Va.—In a decision with nationwide implications, the New Jersey Appellate Division yesterday (January 7, 2019) rejected the Borough of Glassboro’s attempt to condemn private property in service of an unspecified and undescribed “redevelopment plan,” holding that government officials cannot use their power to take property simply to engage in what the court called “land…

Ohio Governor Signs Landmark Reform of Occupational Licenses

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a sweeping overhaul of Ohio’s occupational licensing laws on Friday, which govern nearly one-fifth of the state’s workforce. By limiting the ability of otherwise qualified people to work in a given field, licensing laws limit competition and drive up prices for consumers. One study published by the Institute for Justice…

Florida Supreme Court Ends Challenge to Scholarship Programs

Years-long lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of Florida Tax Credit and McKay Scholarships

Tallahassee, Fla.—In a decision issued today, the Florida Supreme Court ended a years-long lawsuit that included a challenge to the constitutionality of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship and the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. The Institute for Justice (IJ) defended the programs on behalf of parents of scholarships students. “Today, after years…

Judge Denies Fort Pierce’s Motion to Dismiss Food Trucks’ Lawsuit

Today, Florida food truck owners are one step closer to vindicating their right to economic liberty after a judge denied the city of Fort Pierce’s motion to dismiss a challenge to its law requiring that food trucks be over 500 feet from any restaurant to legally operate. This ruling by Judge Lawrence Mirman of the…

Our Issues

Educational Choice

School choice is simply the idea that all parents, regardless of means, should enjoy the freedom to choose what schools their children attend.
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Economic Liberty

The right to earn a living in the occupation of your choice without unnecessary government interference is at the heart of the American Dream.
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First Amendment

We seek to defend the free flow of information—information that is indispensable to our democratic form of government and to our free enterprise economy.
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Private Property

Respecting the right of private property is essential to a just and prosperous society. But government at all levels—local, state and federal—routinely infringe on these rights.
more on this issue »

IJ IN THE MOVIES

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

CATHERINE KEENER

EMMY NOMINEE

JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN

LITTLE PINK HOUSE

SHE FOUGHT FOR HER HOME. AND YOURS.

ECONOMIC LIBERTY

Occupational Licensing Blocks Americans' Right to Earn an Honest Living.

OccupationalLicensing.com

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November 14, 2018 | Strategic Research

At What Cost

State and National Estimates of the Economic Costs of Occupational Licensing
November 15, 2018 | Strategic Research

Ready to Roll

Nine Lessons from Ending Wisconsin's Home-Baking Ban

Scott Fisher and Gone Broke Gaming

Scott Fisher runs a video game store in Orange Park, Florida, just outside Jacksonville. To boost foot traffic and visibility for his business, he set up a giant inflatable Mario, only to run afoul of the town’s sign code. Scott has joined with the Institute for Justice to defend his First Amendment rights.

Susette Kelo

Susette is the Kelo in Kelo v. New London. She led her neighbors in a seven-year battle to save their homes from being taken by the government for private development, culminating in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005.

Joyce Osborn Wilson

Joyce is banned from offering Alabamians a comfortable and clean place to use the prepackaged, teeth-whitening products she sells to customers.

Isis Brantley

For decades, Isis Brantley has fought for her right to braid hair and to pass on her knowledge to others. She successfully sued the state of Texas after it attempted to force her to turn her braiding school into a barber college.

Korver Ear Nose and Throat LLC

Korver Ear Nose and Throat LLC owns a recently constructed medical facility in Orange City, Iowa. It would like to convert the lower level of this facility into an outpatient surgery center, but does not want to incur the enormous time, expense, and uncertainty of going through the certificate of need process, only to be denied because of its competitor’s opposition.

Colon Health Centers for America

Dr. Mark Baumel, of Colon Health Centers for America, wants to increase the rate of screening for colon cancers. But when Dr. Baumel and his partners sought Virginia’s permission to buy new CT scanners, it denied them a “certificate of need.”

Michelle Rock

Since 2014, Michelle has owned and operated her two food trucks in and around Wilmington, North Carolina: Momma Rock’s Dessert Truck specializes in event catering while T’Geaux Boys—a nod to Michelle’s Louisiana roots—operates as a more traditional food truck.

Norys Hernandez

Norys Hernandez co-owns a home in North Philadelphia with her sister, who resides there. Norys has never been in trouble with the law. But her home was seized after her nephew was caught selling a small amount of drugs outside the home.

Jeff Thornton

Dan Burgess

IJ client Dan Burgess drives for ridesharing companies uberX, Sidecar and Lyft and is fighting to defend his economic liberty.

Anthonia Nwaorie

A registered nurse and grandmother from Katy, Texas, Anthonia had over $40,000 in cash seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She was heading to Nigeria and planned to use the money to help family and to built a new medical clinic. Anthonia is now the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against CBP’s policies of seizing cash and demanding owners waive away their constitutional rights to recover their money.

Scott Dow

Scott Dow has spent more than two decades working with computers, geospatial and remote sensing and 3D computer modeling, before he co-founded Vizaline in Mississippi.

Heather Russinko

Heather is a single mother of a 14-year-old son. After bringing in baked goods to her son’s school for fundraisers and to his football team, Heather started getting many requests to sell them. But then Heather learned that selling her goods from home was illegal. Heather wants very much to be able to resume selling her delicious goods so she can use the money to support her son.

Benigno Diaz

Benny Diaz owns and operates the “Taco Trap” food truck. But he can’t sell his tacos in Fort Pierce, Florida because the city bans all food trucks within 500 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Michael Cristofaro

The Cristofaros were plaintiffs in the infamous Kelo v. New London lawsuit, when the city tried to take their house again. Since the ruling, Mike has become a national spokesperson for property owners fighting eminent domain abuse.

Gajendra Singh

Dr. Gajendra Singh opened Forsyth Imaging Center in 2017 to provide X-rays, ultrasounds, MRI scans, and other services at affordable prices. But Dr. Singh is stymied by North Carolina’s “certificate of need” laws.

Ken Quran

Khalid (“Ken”) Quran moved to America in 1997, and now runs a convenience store in Greenville, N.C. But the government seized his entire bank account—more than $150,000—even though he was never charged with a crime.

Lisa Kivirist

Lisa Kivirist is a mother, farmer, business owner and avid baker. Lisa typically serves muffins and other baked goods at her B&B for breakfast, but the baked-good ban prohibits her from selling these same exact goods to guests.

Robin Farris

Robin Farris beat Washington state’s Public Disclosure Commission with IJ’s help. She fought for the right to sue the government to protect our constitutional rights.

Martha Rabello

Martha is a stay-at-home mom with two sons, a 5-year old and a 2-year old. She has baked her whole life and is professionally trained. Martha is Brazilian and lived in Brazil for 25 years, and she would like to start a home business focusing on Brazilian-inspired cookies.

Grace Granatelli

After obtaining her private certifications in canine massage therapy, Grace started volunteering with rescue agencies and adoption events to provide canine massage for ailing and neglected dogs. She later turned her volunteer hobby into a business, which she named Pawsitive Touch.

Next Chapter Winery

Next Chapter Winery is a family-run winery in New Prague, Minnesota built by Timothy and Therese Tulloch. To grow Next Chapter’s business, they would like to offer more varieties of wine, which would require using more grapes from other regions.

Josh Craven

Josh grew up in Pleasant Ridge and he cannot realistically afford to own a home anywhere else.

Dela Ends

Dela Ends owns and runs a small, USDA-certified organic farm in Green County, Wisconsin. Selling her home-baked goods would let Dela help support her family, but is illegal under state law.

Mark Zaniewski

Mark owns the Metro Marathon service station in Sterling Heights, Mich., which has been in the family for 40 years. But in 2013, the IRS seized over $70,000, even though Mark violated no law.

Harley Bruce

Harley Bruce owns Poor Piggy’s BBQ & Catering, which was the first food truck in Wilmington and serves up award-winning North Carolina barbecue.

Panna Shah

Panna Shah came to the United States from India in 2006 in search of a better life. She has been threading for more than 30 years but would be unable to thread full-time because she can’t afford to complete Louisiana’s irrelevant training requirements.

Richard Beyer

Richard and his business partner poured thousands of hours of sweat equity into renovating the two homes and the lots they purchased in New London, Conn.

David Diaz

David Diaz, a custodian at a synagogue in the Bronx, lives with members of his family in an apartment near the Bronx Zoo. The NYPD raided the apartment in 2013, entering with guns drawn, and arrested all the adults present, but did not charge anyone.

Alexis Bailly Vineyard

Inspired by France’s wine-growing regions, Nan Bailly’s father started Alexis Bailly Vineyard, Minnesota’s oldest operating farm winery, in 1973. Nan has continued her father’s legacy, making Minnesota wines with her vineyard’s grapes and other locally-sourced ingredients. She would like the freedom to offer new and greater varieties of blended wine to the public without worrying about an arbitrary limit on how many of her grapes crossed Minnesota’s border.

Young Americans for Freedom

Whitworth University Young Americans for Freedom Chapter (WU-YAF) has members who are eligible for the State Work-Study Program, but some of their desired employers are considered ineligible because they are “sectarian.”

Jeffrey, Richard and Mitch Hirsch

Brothers Jeffrey, Richard and Mitch Hirsch owned Bi-County Distributors Inc., a small distribution business in Long Island, N.Y. The IRS used a legal process called civil forfeiture to seize their entire bank account—more than $446,000—even though they had done nothing wrong. After the brothers filed a lawsuit, the IRS returned their hard-earned cash.

Elmer Kilian

IJ client Elmer Kilian has been preparing taxes for the past 30 years on his dining room table. He fought and successfully defended his right to earn an honest living without getting permission from the IRS.

Chip McElroy

Chip owns Live Oak Brewing, based in Austin, Texas. Established in 1997, Live Oak has been brewing craft beer long before its current surge in popularity. Now he is fighting a Texas law that forces craft brewers to give up millions of dollars of valuable property to politically connected beer distributors.

Carl and Joy Gamble

Norwood, Ohio wanted to bulldoze Carl and Joy’s home of more than three decades to make way for a private developer.

Markela Sourovelis

In May 2014, Philadelphia police showed up unannounced at Markela’s home and tried to seize the home through civil forfeiture because her son had been caught selling a small amount of drugs outside the home. After a year of uncertainty, the city agreed to stop seizing people’s homes without warning and forcing people to give up their constitutional rights and kick out family members. Even better—Markela’s son was allowed back home.

Lisa Howard

Lisa is one of the owners of White Cottage Red Door in Door County, Wisconsin. When the small business opened a food truck in its parking lot, the Town of Gibraltar’s board, chaired by a local restaurant owner, promptly banned all mobile businesses.

Janice Craig

Janice received a $215 fine for “failure to obey traffic signs or control” in Doraville, Georgia. If she can, Janice now goes out of her way to avoid Doraville.

Aaron and Monica Cannon

Laura Pekarik

IJ client Laura Pekarik is an entrepreneurial dynamo who owns and operates the Cupcakes for Courage food truck.

Jeana and Jack Horner

Jeana and Jack Horner are among the hundreds of people each year who find themselves caught in Indianapolis’s forfeiture machine.

David Vocatura

Vocatura’s Bakery was founded in 1919, almost one hundred years ago, and has been owned and operated by three generations of the Vocatura family. Claiming the owners violated so-called “structuring” laws by depositing cash in the bakery’s bank account in amounts less than $10,000, the IRS seized more than $68,000 from the family.

Brian Peffer

Brian Peffer owns and operates “Creative Chef on Wheels.” Brian simply wants to provide his customers with the best food and service he can, but Fort Pierce, Florida’s 500-foot ban stops him from competing.

Hinga Mbogo

For more than 30 years, Hinga Mbogo has been fixing the cars of Dallas residents at his shop on Ross Avenue. But the city is trying to shut him down by using an oppressive and little-known zoning process called “amortization.”

Hilda Brucker

Hilda Brucker was sitting at home one day working her job as a freelance writer. The phone rang, she answered, and was told by a hostile voice that if she didn’t come down to the courthouse at once she would be given a failure to appear violation. She hastily complied. When she got there, she found out that the city had issued a citation, although it had never told her about it. She later learned the citation stated she was charged with (1) “Rotted wood on house and chipping paint on fascia boards”; (2) “High weeds in backyard and ivy on tree and vines on house”; and (3) “Driveway in a state of disrepair.” Not knowing what to do, Hilda pled guilty to the driveway charge, while the other two were dismissed. She paid a fine of $100 and was sentenced to six months probation, where she had to report to a probation officer, avoid alcoholic intoxication, and cooperate “with code enforcement upon request.” She later hired an attorney who filed a motion to vacate her sentence, but the motion was continued several times, eventually being granted only after her six-month probation would have already ended. She also obtained a home equity line of credit in case she needed to pay for any of the fixes that the city nebulously demanded.

Dina Galassini

Arizona wants to bar people from joining together to protest local ballot measures without first registering with the government.

Nikki McGowan

Nikki McGowan owns and operates the Madame BBQ food truck. She is challenging Baltimore’s 300-foot rule because it prevents her from successfully operating in the city.

Alan and Judy Gillis

Alan and Judy Gillis live in Orrington, Maine and send their youngest daughter, Isabella, currently a junior to Bangor Christian Schools. But because Alan and Judy have chosen a religious school for their daughter, Maine prohibits the town from paying Isabella’s tuition to Bangor Christian Schools.

Heather Kokesch Del Castillo

Heather Kokesch Del Castillo is a health coach in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, who joined with the Institute for Justice to defend her First Amendment right to give dietary advice.

Boaz Brown

Boaz is a full-time student who lives in a rental home that is currently subject to Seattle’s rental-inspection program.

U.S. Supreme Court Case Takes On Anticompetitive Liquor Laws That Keep Out Newcomers

Institute for Justice

Homepage

Lawsuit Challenges SEC Gag Order and Book Ban

Florida Supreme Court Ends Challenge to Scholarship Programs

Less than 1% of 8,000 charities rated have received at least 17 consecutive 4-star ratings

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | January 10, 2019

Institute for Justice, which represented would-be tour guides, comments on continuing legal battle

John Kramer | Press Release | January 10, 2019

J. Justin Wilson | Press Release | January 9, 2019

Institute for Justice represents Cato Institute in First Amendment lawsuit to end SEC’s imposition of unconstitutional settlement gag orders

John Kramer | Press Release | January 8, 2019

State Court Holds That Government Must Demonstrate Property Is “Necessary” Before Condemning Private Property

Nick Sibilla | Press Release | January 7, 2019

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | January 4, 2019

Years-long lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of Florida Tax Credit and McKay Scholarships

Conor Beck | Press Release | January 3, 2019

Our Issues

Educational Choice

Economic Liberty

First Amendment

Private Property

IJ IN THE MOVIES

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

CATHERINE KEENER

EMMY NOMINEE

JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN

LITTLE PINK HOUSE

SHE FOUGHT FOR HER HOME. AND YOURS.

ECONOMIC LIBERTY

Occupational Licensing Blocks Americans' Right to Earn an Honest Living.

OccupationalLicensing.com

SUPPORT OUR WORK

The National Law Firm for Liberty

Our Videos

Our Research

November 14, 2018 | Strategic Research

State and National Estimates of the Economic Costs of Occupational Licensing

November 15, 2018 | Strategic Research

Nine Lessons from Ending Wisconsin's Home-Baking Ban

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