Institute for Justice

Homepage

New Orleans Man Will Get His Life Savings Back; Federal Government Agrees to Dismiss Case, Clearing His Name

October 29, 2021

Coalition Urges SCOTUS to Eliminate "Constitution-free zones" for Federal Officers

September 14, 2021

Less than 1% of the nearly 10,000 charities rated have received at least 20 consecutive 4-star ratings

State Con Law Case of the Week: State Constitutional Mapmaking

This week I’m just going to quickly note a really interesting set of opinions from the Wisconsin Supreme Court on redistricting which the court issued this Tuesday, Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission. The case follows a petition by a group of Wisconsin voters asking the court to redraw congressional and legislative districts following the legislature’s…

Following Reforms, Washington Supreme Court Lets Seattle’s Invasive Inspection Law Stand

SEATTLE—Yesterday, the Washington State Supreme Court denied review of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a Seattle law that requires tenants to submit to warrantless inspections of their homes. The lawsuit, which was brought by the Institute for Justice (IJ) on behalf of a group of Seattle renters and landlords, argued that the law was…

Next Week: Supreme Court Will Hear Potentially Landmark Maine School Choice Case

High Court will Resolve Whether States May Bar Parents Who Select Schools that Provide Religious Instruction from Participating in Student-Aid Programs

ARLINGTON, Va.—Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a potentially landmark case challenging a Maine law that bans families from an otherwise generally available student-aid program if they choose to send their children to schools that teach religion. The Institute for Justice (IJ) and First Liberty Institute, which represent the parents…

Oral Argument Preview: Schroeder vs. Simon

Tomorrow, the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a much-anticipated voting rights case: Schroeder v. Simon. The case is a challenge brought by the ACLU to Minnesota’s system for restoring voting rights to felons. Minnesota restores voting rights for felons who have been released from prison and completed their sentences. But the state…

State Con Law Case of the Week: Vetoes and Clever Formatting

It’s a familiar story that if Congress passes a bill it goes to the President for his signature, and he can then either sign it or veto the thing. Then, Congress can still make it become a law but only if two-thirds of each house vote to override the veto. But it’s a not-as-familiar tale…

New York Residents Fight to Defend Their Homes

County Development Authority Threatens to Take Homes So It Can Hand Them Over for a Private Development Project

Syracuse, N.Y.—Today, residents and supporters of the Burnet Road neighborhood in Clay, New York, announced the formation of a new group, the Save Burnet Road Coalition. The group of homeowners and local business owners is organizing to stop the Onondaga County Industrial Development Authority (OCIDA) from destroying a multi-generational rural neighborhood in order to expand…

Entrepreneur Barred from Competing with Colorado’s Transportation Monopoly Vows to Appeal Case’s Dismissal

Lawsuit argues that government allowing existing transportation companies to veto new competitors violates the Colorado Constitution.

DENVER—Today, Abdallah Batayneh, an entrepreneur in Steamboat Springs, announced that he will appeal the dismissal of his lawsuit challenging Colorado’s transportation monopoly law. The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2021, argues that the law protects existing transportation companies from competition by giving them the power to veto new competition. That hurts customers, the public…

Our Issues

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.
more on this issue »
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.
more on this issue »
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.
more on this issue »
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 Works Wonders

IJ Works Wonders: An 8-Year Battle Against Excessive Fines

IJ Works Wonders: IJ Fights Half-baked Cottage Food Laws

SUPPORT OUR WORK

GIVE NOW $25 $50 $75 $100 $250

The National Law Firm for Liberty

Your tax-deductible contribution helps IJ fight for Americans’ rights. IJ defends ordinary people who want to pursue their vision of the American Dream but find that the government is standing in their way. We stand with our clients no matter how long their cases take—and we win 75% of the time.

Our Videos

See All Videos »

Our Research

See All Research »

October 20, 2021 |

Frustrating, Corrupt, Unfair

Civil Forfeiture in the Words of Its Victims
July 7, 2021 | Strategic Research

Beauty School Debt and Drop-Outs

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.

Dario Gurrola

James Jenkins

James Jenkins, along with his husband, is the co-owner of Valancourt Books in Richmond, Virginia, which specializes in reviving and popularizing rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction.

James King

In 2014, James King, a 21-year-old college student at the time, was walking between his two summer internships in Grand Rapids. James had no idea his life was about to change when he came upon two men leaning against a black SUV. They were dressed in scruffy street clothes.

Josh Dykstra

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.

Matthew Bentley, Joseph Briere and Wesley Williams

Bentley, Williams, and Briere live with their three roommates in Northwest Seattle and objected to the city’s warrantless rental inspection.

Josh Craven

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

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.

Michael Peticolas

Michael Peticolas owns Peticolas Brewing, located in an industrial neighborhood near downtown Dallas. In 2013, Texas passed a law that prohibits brewers from negotiating with distributors for the value of their territorial rights. Instead, the law forces brewers to give those rights away for free. That jeopardizes his plans to expand into other parts of Texas.

Dalanea Taylor

Bryan Singer and Erika Nordyke

Ushaben Chudasama

Ushaben used to thread part-time at the Threading Studio & Spa near New Orleans, often filling in for licensed estheticians when they were unable to work. But after state regulators ordered the business to terminate its unlicensed threaders, Ushaben is no longer permitted to thread in the studio.

Paul and Jennifer Snitko

Janet Nunn

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.

Della Sims

Della Sims is a retired postal worker who has rented from Josefina Lozano in Zion, Illinois since 1998. She’s fighting back against the city’s warrantless rental inspections.

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.

Robert Jones

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.

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.

Carter Walker

Carter Walker is a reporter covering the county government for the Lancaster, Pennsylvania newspaper. To shine a light on forfeiture spending by the Lancaster County DA, he filed a request, which was denied. Carter appealed to Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records and won, but now the DA is fighting in court to keep this information secret.

Jerry Johnson

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.

John Rinaldi

When John tried to expand his cab business to Bowling Green, he was stymied by a city law that limited the number of taxis allowed in the city to only 16. Less than two months after he filed a lawsuit, Bowling Green repealed the cap.

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.

Cindy Tucker

Jim Roos

St. Louis tried to take Jim Roos’ property through eminent domain. Jim protested by painting a giant sign on one of his buildings. The city then tried to censor him.

Regino Soriano

Regino Soriano owns a popular food truck named El Bandolero, but his plans to expand have been significantly restricted by San Antonio’s city’s 300-foot rule.

Veronica Walker-Davis and Jerome Davis

In May 2018, Jerome Davis and Veronica Walker-Davis took their family car to a repair shop. But a shop employee took their car on a joyride, police arrested them for driving on a revoked license, and impounded the car. When Veronica and Jerome went to get their car, they were told that it was gone. The city had already disposed of it; either selling it, scrapping it, or keeping it for police use.

Sage Lewis

Sage Lewis pioneered an innovative community for the homeless on his commercial property at 15 Broad Street in Akron, Ohio. His nonprofit, The Homeless Charity, provides tents, food, showers, computers, and other resources to 44 residents. But Akron is trying to eliminate his work through the city’s zoning code.

Steve Cooksey

This caveman blogger fought for free speech and Internet freedom.

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.

Dale Sorcher

Dale Sorcher has cared for infants and toddlers at a Jewish day care on and off since 1996 and holds two masters degrees, one in social work and one in expressive therapy. Unfortunately, under a new regulation in the District of Columbia, her experience does not qualify her to keep her job.

Michael Driesen

Iowa’s certificate-of-need requirement prevents Michael Driesen and his children from receiving future ENT surgeries from Korver ENT because Korver ENT cannot open its proposed surgery center before obtaining a certificate of need.

Silvio Membreno

IJ client Silvio Membreno built his business by selling flowers to consumers where they want to buy them. But the city of Hialeah, Fla., is unconstitutionally restricting his business.

Elizabeth Brokamp

Georgia and Grandy Montgomery

Akhila Murphy

Mary Jackson

Mary is a certified lactation consultation with nearly three decades of experience, including teaching at Emory and Morehouse. But thanks to a new license in Georgia, Mary can no longer work in her current position helping women and children with hands-on breastfeeding advice.

Central Radio Company

Bob Wilson is blocked by the city of Norfolk, Va., from displaying a banner protesting eminent domain abuse outside his business, Central Radio Company.

Tammy Holland

In September 2015, Tammy Holland took out two ads in her local Colorado newspaper to alert readers to upcoming school-board elections. For that simple act of civic engagement, Tammy was sued—twice—by incumbent school board members who didn’t appreciate the publicity. Tammy teamed up with IJ to challenge Colorado’s abuse-prone system of enforcing private campaign-finance complaints. In June 2018, a federal court sided with Tammy and declared Colorado’s system unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

Kriss Marion

Kriss Marion is the founder of her local farmers’ market in Blanchardville, Wisconsin. But under the state’s ban on selling home-baked goods, Kriss must instead give her extra baked goods away or feed them to her pigs and chickens.

Chris Hadraba

Chris 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.

Aurora Espinoza

Aurora Espinoza is a single mom who works a full‑time job to make ends meet, has two daughters who are trapped by their zip code in some of the worst public schools in the state.

Visibly

Visibly is a Chicago-based internet startup that offers consumers a simple promise: Get a new prescription for glasses or contacts from the comfort of your own home. In most states, Visibly’s technology allows doctors to provide faster and better service to more people—but not in South Carolina.

Michael R. Jones

Celeste Kelly

IJ client Celeste Kelly spent hundreds of hours learning about horses in order to obtain private certifications in animal massage. But now the state of Arizona is forcing her to become a licensed veterinarian to continue practicing her craft.

August Kersten

August “Augie” Kersten is a co-owner of the Lonesome Dove saloon in Mandan, North Dakota. He started the Lonesome Dove 28 years ago with Brian Berube. The two commissioned a mural for the front of their saloon, which triggered a notice of violation from Mandan, which chided Augie and Brian for displaying art on their own property without first getting the city’s OK.

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.

Sign up to receive IJ's biweekly digital magazine, Liberty & Law along with breaking updates about our fight to protect the rights of all Americans.

Footer Signup

Name*
First Last
Email
Yes, I want a hard copy, too!
- Yes, send me the magazine by mail, too!
Address
Street Address City State ZIP Code
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Small Business Owner Sues to Stop Ohio’s “Whenever, Wherever” Inspections

Institute for Justice

Homepage

New Orleans Man Will Get His Life Savings Back; Federal Government Agrees to Dismiss Case, Clearing His Name

Coalition Urges SCOTUS to Eliminate "Constitution-free zones" for Federal Officers

Less than 1% of the nearly 10,000 charities rated have received at least 20 consecutive 4-star ratings

Anthony Sanders | Center for Judicial Engagement | December 4, 2021

J. Justin Wilson | Press Release | December 2, 2021

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | December 1, 2021

High Court will Resolve Whether States May Bar Parents Who Select Schools that Provide Religious Instruction from Participating in Student-Aid Programs

Adam Shelton | Center for Judicial Engagement | November 29, 2021

Anthony Sanders | Center for Judicial Engagement | November 19, 2021

John Kramer | Press Release | November 17, 2021

County Development Authority Threatens to Take Homes So It Can Hand Them Over for a Private Development Project

Matt Powers | Press Release | November 16, 2021

Lawsuit argues that government allowing existing transportation companies to veto new competitors violates the Colorado Constitution.

Our Issues

Economic Liberty

Educational Choice

First Amendment

Private Property

IJ Works Wonders

IJ Works Wonders: An 8-Year Battle Against Excessive Fines

IJ Works Wonders: IJ Fights Half-baked Cottage Food Laws

SUPPORT OUR WORK

The National Law Firm for Liberty

Our Videos

Our Research

October 20, 2021 |

Civil Forfeiture in the Words of Its Victims

July 7, 2021 | Strategic Research

Sign up to receive IJ's biweekly digital magazine, Liberty & Law along with breaking updates about our fight to protect the rights of all Americans.

Footer Signup

Litigating for Liberty.

JOIN THE FIGHT!