Cases – Institute for Justice

Private Property Cases

Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency

Can the government take your property just to hand it over to your business competitor? That is the question New York developer Bryan Bowers is asking the United States Supreme Court after New York’s courts…

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…

Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project

Flathead Warming Center

The Flathead Warming Center—an emergency shelter in Kalispell, Montana—suffered a cruel blow as winter approaches. On September 16, 2024, the Kalispell City Council voted 6-3 to revoke the Warming Center’s permit, even though it has…

Private Property | SWAT Destruction

Martin v. United States

FBI agents raided the wrong home in suburban Atlanta. Now the federal government refuses to compensate the victims even though Congress passed a law permitting suits for damages caused by federal employees.

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…

Immunity and Accountability | Private Property

Florida 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.

Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property

Georgia Home Demolition

Eric Arnold stood in front of his property in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, shaking in shock and disbelief. The house he had been painstakingly fixing up for months—the house he poured hours of work and thousands…

Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project

Santa Clara Fines

Michael and Kellie Ballard provided safe, affordable housing for their long-time employee and his family at the Ballards’ historic vineyard and winery in Santa Clara County, California. For that good deed, the Ballards have been…

Private Property | Zoning Justice Project

South Fulton Protectionist Zoning

In America, the government doesn’t get to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Businesses compete, and the consumer ultimately decides which services or products they want. The idea that anyone can open a storefront…

Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Indiana Parcel Forfeiture

Henry and Minh Cheng, who run a wholesale jewelry business, are fighting Indiana to keep money a customer sent them through FedEx. Indiana police seized the money and prosecutors are trying to take it through…

Immunity and Accountability | Private Property

Martinez v. High

Desiree Martinez bravely reported to the police the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, Kyle Pennington. But Pennington was a police officer, and came from a family of officers. Instead of…

Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property

Oklahoma Takings

Courts say Okay, Oklahoma owes Melisa Robinson for damaging her property. But the city won't pay. That violates her Fifth Amendment right to just compensation.

Immunity and Accountability | Private Property

Murphy v. Schmitt

Have you ever heard of someone being arrested and sent to jail for walking on the wrong side of the road? Probably not — because police officers never, or almost never, arrest people for such…

Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction

Texas Wrong House Raid

Everyone who visits a home for the first time—including delivery drivers, plumbers, and Girl Scouts—knows that you have to make sure you have the right address before barging in. Somehow, Waxahachie Police Department (WPD) Lieutenant…

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.

Virginia Retaliation

Theslet Benoir and Clemene Bastien are a married couple that immigrated to the United States from Haiti in 2005. They received asylum, settled in Parksley, Virginia, and opened a brick-and-mortar store that caters to the…

Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project

Michigan Green Cemetery

Americans want more choice for one of the last and most important decisions they will ever make: where to be buried. Peter and Annica Quakenbush want to provide fellow Michiganders with more choice by opening…

Immunity and Accountability | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | SWAT Destruction

South Bend SWAT Destruction

In South Bend, a SWAT team raided the wrong home, leaving a single mom with thousands of dollars in damage not covered by insurance. She is suing for compensation.

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Brentwood Blight

A St. Louis suburb is trying to pave the way for a massive redevelopment by calling well-kept loved family businesses.

Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | SWAT Destruction

Slaybaugh SWAT Appeal

Who pays when the government destroys private property for a public purpose, such as getting a fugitive off the streets? The answer should be clear: if the government breaks it, the government buys it. That’s…

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.