Kansas County Spent Asset Forfeiture Funds on Pizza, Gym Equipment and Remodeling a D.A.’s Office
FIRST AMENDMENT
In Wake of ‘McCutcheon,’ New Lawsuit Challenges State’s ‘Special Sources Limit’
ECONOMIC LIBERTY
Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneur Files Federal Lawsuit Against Georgia Board of Dentistry
PROPERTY RIGHTS
Will California Revive Redevelopment Agencies?
IJ NEWS
THE BOOK: Terms of Engagement available now
IJ in the News RSS Feed
April 18, 2014
Wall Street Journal
Schooling on a 'Debit Card'
Kathy Visser says her 10-year-old son has made visible progress recently after struggling for years to hold and use a pencil and maintain focus on his school assignments.   More

April 18, 2014
Cronkite News Service
Providers of animal massage in legal battle with state veterinary board
Celeste Kelly moves her hands over the back leg of Bend N’ Snap, or Bend, a 12-year-old jumping horse that sustained an injury a few years ago, pressing her fingertips on his sore muscles ...   More

April 18, 2014
The Bulletin
State agency won't enforce ban on advertising raw milk
he day that Jeff Severson learned the Oregon Department of Agriculture would no longer enforce a ban on raw milk advertising, he rounded up some plywood and got to work painting over and over again: “Raw milk, Hope Springs Dairy, 541-241-6183.”   More

April 17, 2014
Chicago Tribune
Food carts face rough path in Chicago
From Beijing to Berlin, and in cities across America, food carts have become hot attractions ...   More

April 17, 2014
Associated Press
NH argues no state money goes to scholarships
Attorneys representing New Hampshire argued before state Supreme Court justices Wednesday that a state program that gives scholarships to students who attend private and religious schools is funded by businesses and that no state funds are given to the schools.   More

April 16, 2014
Washington Post
Fashion trucks roll out across the Washington region
Most women have an understandable aversion to getting into unfamiliar vehicles ...   More

April 16, 2014
WFSU
Institute Targets 'Dirty Dozen': Professions Prime For Deregulation
Over the past several years Governor Rick Scott has touted Florida as a refuge from “burdensome regulations” ...   More

April 16, 2014
The Freeman
Let a Thousand Home Businesses Bloom
Imagine you’re out of work. But you’ve got capital in your talents, your home, and your family and friends ...   More

April 15, 2014
CalWatchDog
Initiative would revive redevelopment agencies
If it were a movie, it might be called “Revenge of the JEDI: the Redevelopment Empire Strikes Back" ...   More

April 15, 2014
Washington Times
Abusive civil asset forfeiture laws
Do you think the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies should have the right to seize your assets, including your bank accounts, when you have not been convicted of wrongdoing?   More

Activist News - Get Active with IJ's Human Action Network

CJE in the News RSS Feed

Gov't Says "Naaayyyy" to Horse Massage

The Ariz. State Veterinary Medical Examining Board wants to throw entrepreneurs who massage animals without a veterinary license into jail and fine them $3,500 per violation.

Celeste Kelly is a horse massage therapist who decided to turn her love of horses into a successful business. She spent hundreds of hours learning about horse anatomy and developing massage techniques to obtain private certifications in animal massage.

Massage therapists do not need a medical degree to massage humans, but entrepreneurs like Celeste who want to massage animals in Arizona must spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend four years of veterinary school where they are not even required to learn massage.

Because of this regulation, Celeste stands to lose everything. That is why on March 5, 2014, the Institute for Justice, the national law firm for liberty, filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court on behalf of Celeste and other animal massage therapists, challenging Arizona's animal massage regulation as an unconstitutional violation of animal massage entrepreneurs' right to earn an honest living

To learn more about this case, visit ‪http://ij.org/AZmassage‬

Freedom Flix

The Institute for Justice is always looking for new ways to promote the message of freedom. To that end, IJ produced the following videos in-house to tell the stories of our clients and their fight for individual liberty.

None of this — the cases or these videos — would be possible without the continued generosity of our donors. We hope you enjoy them and share them with those who need a little inspiration.

Subscribe to our videos via iTunes or YouTube.

Ariz. Supreme Court Declares Edu. Choice Program Constitutional (2:04)
The Arizona Supreme Court announced today that it will not review a unanimous Court of Appeals' decision that declared Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program passes constitutional muster.
Let Kids Escape Failing North Carolina Schools (3:09)
IJ has intervened to defend North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program for low income parents like Cynthia Perry.
The Top 6 Craziest Things Cops Spent Forfeiture Money On (1:07)
Under civil asset forfeiture, police can seize property suspected of involvement in criminal activity.
Little American Dream Factory: Chicago Bureaucrats Put the Brakes on an Innovative Business (5:02)
The story of Zina Murray, her innovative business, and how Chicago killed it along with the dreams of fifteen other entrepreneurs.
City Forces Homeowners to Destroy Veggie Garden (0:51)
May the government prohibit you from peacefully and productively using your own property to feed your family?

More videos: Economic Liberty, Private Property, School Choice, First Amendment, All Videos

The National Law Firm for Liberty

“A merry band of libertarian litigators.”
—Columnist George F. Will

Institute Profile: Who We Are

IJ's Merry Band of Litigators

Founded in 1991, the Institute for Justice is what a civil liberties law firm should be. As the national law firm for liberty, we stick to a clear mission engaging in cutting-edge litigation and advocacy both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion on behalf of individuals whose most basic rights are denied by the government.  Our four pillars of litigation are private property, economic liberty, free speech and school choice. Simply put, we seek a rule of law under which individuals can control their destinies as free and responsible members of society.

The Institute for Justice is a 501(c)(3) organization; donations are tax-deductible.


 

More About IJ:

Wall Street Journal Weekend Interview with Chip Mellor

The Quest For Justice - the Inaugural Speech Launching the Institute for Justice

The IJ Way - While so many factors contribute to our success—the talents of the people involved, the commitment of our donors, and the pursuit of a strategic litigation plan—nothing is more central to our success than the culture of IJ, which determines the way we do business.

Litigating for Liberty: The Institute for Justice's Chip Mellor on campaign-finance reform, eminent-domain abuse, and licensing laws gone wild - an Interview with Chip Mellor by Reason Magazine's Nick Gillespie.

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Our Record of Success

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- 168 cases litigated in four core mission areas:  economic liberty, property rights, political and commercial speech, and school choice

- 5 U.S. Supreme Court cases since 2002 (four victories)

- 70 percent victory rate (through litigation and legislation)

- In 2013 alone, won 14 cases, filed 15 new ones, and litigated 22 others.

- First favorable U.S. appeals court ruling for economic liberty since the New Deal

- 47 states protected property rights from eminent domain through legislative reform or state supreme court rulings after Kelo v. City of New London 

- Over 16,000 homes and businesses saved since U.S. Supreme Court loss in Kelo

- More than 200,000 children nationwide benefiting from school choice

- 30 national awards for our media relations work, publications, and production

- Strategic research cited by U.S. Supreme Court and Indiana Supreme Court; used in six IJ briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, three successful cert. petitions, and 13 articles published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals; also cited in 57 articles by other authors in law, public policy, and scholarly journals

- Only law school clinic in the nation focusing exclusively on assisting low-income entrepreneurs start exclusively private-sector businesses

READ MORE IJ AT A GLANCE

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We change the world, and have fun doing it!

 

 IJ Overview Video from the Giving Library

 

Watch more videos from each of our four pillars of litigation: Economic Liberty, Private Property, School Choice, First Amendment. View All Videos