4th Amendment Project Cases
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
Norfolk, VA Camera Surveillance
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…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Pennsylvania Fish Cops
Tim and Stephanie Thomas purchased their cabin on Butler Lake in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, in 2014. In 2022, after Stephanie was diagnosed with stage four cancer, it also became a sanctuary for her to rest and…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Louisiana Open Fields
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 Genetic Privacy
Like all new mothers, New Jersey residents Hannah Lovaglio and Erica Jedynak each experienced the usual emotional whirlwind during their pregnancies. They had attended prenatal classes, meticulously planned their nurseries, and devoured books on parenting.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Virginia Open Fields
Josh Highlander’s son is afraid of the boogeyman. While playing with his mother in the yard, their basketball rolled toward the woods. She was shocked to see a figure standing in their woods wearing a…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Texas Traffic Stop
Alek Schott partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to announce 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…
4th Amendment Project | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Fort Bend Retaliation
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 | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Louisiana Traffic Stop
Mario Rosales and his girlfriend were pulled over for failing to signal, but a police camera clearly showed him signaling. Now Mario is suing over the Alexandria Police Department's "fishing trip" traffic stops.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
Michigan Drone Surveillance
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. He keeps those vehicles…
4th Amendment Project | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Political Speech | Private Property
East Cleveland Retaliation
Cities can’t use the police to punish political speech.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
USPS Mail Seizure
The U.S. Post Office cannot open someone's mail without getting a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Brookside, Alabama Fines
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Pennsylvania Open Fields
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…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Pollreis Cert Petition
A police officer in Arkansas held two innocent children at gun point when he was supposed to be searching for an adult suspect. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to hear the family’s case and…
4th Amendment Project | Business Inspections | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Ohio Warrantless 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…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Texas Forfeiture II
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…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
US Private Vaults Seizure
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…
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Pasco Predictive Policing
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.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Oliva v. Nivar
José Oliva was brutally beaten by federal officers in an unprovoked attack at a VA Hospital. This attack violated his Fourth Amendment rights, and IJ filed a petition to have the Supreme Court take on…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Tennessee Open Fields
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…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Detroit Civil Forfeiture
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…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
DEA and TSA Airport Forfeitures
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…
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Zion, Illinois Rental 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…
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Chicago Impound
Chicago is towing the cars of innocent people and holding them for ransom. Victims of this unjust system are taking a stand, with IJ’s help, and calling for an end to this impound racket.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Seattle Rental Inspections
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…
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Pottstown, Pa. Rental Inspections
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…
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property | Vending
Chicago Food Trucks
Chicago shouldn’t be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Red Wing Rental Inspections
Under Red Wing, Minn.’s rental inspection ordinance, it is easier for the government to force its way into the homes of law-abiding citizens than to search the home of a suspected criminal.