4th Amendment Project Cases
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Rule of Law | Warrantless Surveillance
San Jose residents file federal lawsuit challenging city's use of nearly 500 license plate reader cameras
San Jose residents file federal class action lawsuit challenging city's use of nearly 500 license plate read cameras.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Portland Family Files Lawsuit After SWAT Team Arrested Innocent 16-Year-Old at Gunpoint
Parents sue after a SWAT team detained their innocent 16-year-old son at gunpoint as he walked to lunch.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
U.S. Citizen Demands End to Unconstitutional Raids and Detentions
A U.S. citizen, who was wrongly detained twice, is suing to stop unconstitutional raids on private construction sites.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Woman Traumatized by False Arrest Sues US Marshals
Penny McCarthy was mistaken for another woman and violently arrested by armed U.S. Marshals. She is suing over the violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Residents File Lawsuit Challenging Statute Permitting Game Wardens to Search Private Property Without Warrant
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Rule of Law | Warrantless Surveillance
Small Businesses Threatened by Financial Surveillance Order File Suit Against the Federal Government
Money services businesses challenged a federal surveillance order requiring reports on low-dollar cash transactions near the southwest border.
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Rule of Law | Warrantless Surveillance
Federal lawsuit challenges city's prolonged, warrantless surveillance of entire driving public
Norfolk, Virginia has installed more than 170 cameras across the city that watch drivers' every movement. Now, two Norfolk-area residents have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal lawsuit challenging the program.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Pennsylvania man files federal lawsuit challenging law allowing Fish and Boat Commission to enter property without warrant
A Pennsylvania man is challenging a state law that gives "fish cops" broad power to enter private property without a warrant after an officer repeatedly trespassed at his lakeside cabin.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Woman Seeks to Hold Police Accountable for Mistaken Identity Arrest
An innocent Texas woman was arrested in a case of mistaken identity while getting off a cruise in 2022. Now, she's suing Broward County for the unconstitutional arrest.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Lawsuit Challenges Warrantless Searches of Land
Louisiana game wardens have entered Tom Manuel's land uninvited and without a warrant multiple times. He's asking courts to follow the Louisiana Constitution and protect private property from unreasonable searches.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
New Jersey Parents File Federal Class Action Lawsuit Challenging State’s Secret Retention of Newborn Blood for 23 Years
New Jersey families challenged the state's policy of keeping blood from every baby born in the state. The state has given samples to law enforcement without a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Homeowner Sues Game Wardens Who Snuck onto His Property and Swiped a Camera
Virginia game wardens entered a family's property, seized their camera, and searched it—all without consent or a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Rule of Law | Warrantless Surveillance
Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Falsifies Traffic Offense to Justify Unwarranted Truck Search
Alek Schott partnered with IJ for a federal lawsuit against Bexar County deputies for illegally stopping him for a traffic violation that he didn’t commit, and then using the stop to detain him and search his truck in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
4th Amendment Project | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Arrested and Prosecuted for his Reporting, Citizen Journalist Defends His First Amendment Rights with Federal Lawsuit
Justin Pulliam, a citizen journalist in Texas, was arrested and prosecuted for his reporting on the activities of the Fort Bend County Sheriff. He is defending his First Amendment rights with a federal lawsuit.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
Michigan Homeowners Fight to Vindicate Fourth Amendment Protections Against Warrantless Surveillance Using Drones
Todd and Heather Maxon live on a five-acre property in rural Long Lake Township, in northern Michigan. Todd spends his free time fixing up and tinkering with cars and other vehicles.
4th Amendment Project | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Political Speech | Private Property
East Cleveland’s Government Weaponized its Police to Punish a Political Opponent. He’s Fighting to Hold It Accountable.
Cities can’t use the police to punish political speech.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Landowners Sue to Stop Warrantless Searches
For years, wildlife officers in Pennsylvania have been ignoring the privacy rights of hunters under the so-called “open fields doctrine,” which posits that private land doesn’t receive privacy protections. This IJ suit challenges the constitutionality of this doctrine, and seeks to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all Pennsylvanians.
4th Amendment Project | Business Inspections | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Small Business Owner Sues to Stop Ohio’s “Whenever, Wherever” Inspections
A taxidermist was threatened with jail time after he asked a wildlife officer to get a warrant before searching his property. With the help of IJ, he’s fighting back to protect the privacy rights of all Ohioans.
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Class Action Lawsuit Seeks to Dismantle Houston’s Illegal and Unconstitutional Forfeiture Machine
Harris County, Texas, has an unconstitutional financial incentive for law enforcement to seize property and cash excessively without probable cause, often sweeping up innocent people in the process. Ameal Woods and Jordan Davis are two victims of this system who have joined forces with IJ to challenge this corrupt system.
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Security Deposit Box Owners Demand FBI Return Property Seized Without a Warrant
FBI agents broke into hundreds of private security deposit box without warrants. Holding government officials accountable for violating Fourth Amendment rights is crucial to ensure similar abuses don’t occur in the future.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Orange City, Iowa, Rental Inspections
Landlords and tenants in Orange City, Iowa are forced to open their doors to government officials without a warrant, simply because the property is a rental. This intrusive rule violates the Fourth Amendment, and that’s why a group of tenants have joined forces with IJ to fight back against this unconstitutional rental inspection ordinance.
4th Amendment Project | Rule of Law | Warrantless Surveillance
Florida Parents Partner with IJ to Shut Down Dystopian “Predictive Policing” Program
In true dystopian fashion, Pasco County in Florida, harasses people at their own homes through a method called “predictive policing.” The system tramples on the rights of Pasco residents by placing them under near-constant surveillance. A group of parents have joined with IJ to challenge this unconstitutional system.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Landowners sue to stop warrantless searches
Tennessee Wildlife officials were caught putting cameras on Terry Rainwaters’ property, ignoring his “No Trespassing” signs. Terry and another rural Tennessee property owner are joining forces with IJ to fight back against the “open fields doctrine” that permits this action in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Detroit’s Unconstitutional Civil Forfeiture Program
For decades, residents of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan have lived under constant threat of having their cars taken away and ransomed back to them for $1,000 or more—that is, if the car is ever recovered. In 2020, two Detroiters teamed up with IJ to challenge this unconstitutional civil forfeiture program.
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Air Travelers Sue DEA and TSA Over Airport Cash Seizures
Retired railroad engineer Terry Rolin’s life savings were seized by the government, but he hasn’t been charged with any crime. Now he and his daughter are working with IJ to get his money back and fight back against unconstitutional civil forfeitures.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Landlord and Tenants Sue Illinois City Challenging Unconstitutional Home Inspections
Josefina Lozano and three of her tenants have joined with IJ to file a federal lawsuit to shut down the city of Zion’s warrantless inspection program, which allows the city to intrude on the privacy rights of tenants and landlords without a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Seattle’s Mandatory Rental Inspection Law
A group of landlords and tenants worked together with IJ to challenge a Seattle law that allows city officials to inspect rental properties without a warrant. Unfortunately, after minor reforms were made, a court allowed this invasive law to stand.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Pennsylvania Tenants and Landlord Challenge Unconstitutional Inspections of Homes
Pottstown, Pennsylvania has a rental inspection law that forces landlords and tenants to open their properties and homes to submit to intrusive inspections. On behalf of multiple tenants and a landlord, IJ is challenging this intrusive law that violates the Fourth Amendment.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Minnesota Landlords and Tenants Go to Court to Fight Unconstitutional Search of Homes
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property | Vending
Sweet Home Chicago?: Food Trucks Get the Cold Shoulder in the Windy City
Chicago shouldn’t be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks.