Economic Liberty Cases
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Wine
Minnesota Farm Wineries Fight for Free Trade
A little-known but onerous state law prevented Minnesota vineyards from making a majority of their wine from grapes grown outside Minnesota. IJ partnered with two vineyards to fight this law, and eventually a federal district…
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Hanging by a Thread: Louisiana Eyebrow Threaders Fight for the Right to Earn an Honest Living
Lata Jagtiani, Ushaben Chudasama and Panna Shah have partnered with the Institute for Justice to fight for her right to earn an honest living threading eyebrows in Louisiana.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Green Cab’s Story: Twenty-First Century Innovation Shut Out by Twentieth-Century Regulation
It is unconstitutional for the government to use its power to protect itself and other established businesses from competition. That is why Green Cab has partnered with the Institute for Justice (“IJ”) to challenge Bowling…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Consumers Aren’t Property, and Competition Isn’t Theft
In November 2014, San Diego joined a growing number of cities by lifting its decades-long cap on the number of cabs allowed on its streets. For Abdi Abdisalan and Abdullahi Hassan, the dream of going…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property
Beer Bounty: Texas Craft Brewers Sue Over New Law That Requires Them to Give Part of Their Businesses to Distributors for Free
A Texas law is forcing craft brewers to give up millions of dollars of valuable property to politically connected beer distributors.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
Government Cannot Decide Who Is, Or Is Not, Allowed To Tell A Story
Tour guides are storytellers, and the government can’t be in the business of deciding who is (or who is not) allowed to tell stories.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Cabbies Fight for Freedom: Victorious Cab Drivers Head Back to Court for Second Showdown with Milwaukee’s Taxi Cartel
In response to an IJ lawsuit, Milwaukee lifted its cap on the number of taxis. But the city’s powerful taxi cartel sued to block this reform. Now two cab drivers have again joined with IJ…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Untangling Entrepreneurs from Arkansas' African Braiding Laws
Hair braiding is a simple and safe practice that the government has no business regulating. But in Arkansas, braiders may not sell their services unless they complete 1,500 hours of government-mandated cosmetology training, not one…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Untangling Entrepreneurs from Missouri’s Cosmetology Laws
If you want to braid hair for a living in Missouri, you must spend thousands of dollars on at least 1,500 hours of cosmetology training that teaches you nothing about African-style hair braiding.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Untangling Entrepreneurs from Washington’s Illogical Restrictions on African Hair Braiding
Almost a decade after IJ successfully sued Washington state over its irrational hair braiding laws, officials once again tried to force natural hair braiders to become licensed cosmetologists.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Access Denied: Orthodontist’s Low-Cost Teeth Cleaning Program Shut Down Under Archaic Law That Limits Access to Care
Arkansas flat-out bans licensed dental specialists, like orthodontists, from doing even simple dental work outside of their specialty.
Economic Liberty | Eminent Domain | Private Property
Charlie's Home: How the Institute for Justice is helping one man fight To save his family home
An Atlantic City, N.J., man is fighting to save his family home from a state agency’s eminent domain abuse.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening
Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneur Challenges Dentists’ Monopoly in Georgia
In Georgia, entrepreneurs who offer teeth-whitening services can be charged with a felony, imprisoned for up to five years and fined thousands of dollars. Their crime? Selling the exact same teeth-whitening product sold in stores.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Ridesharing Drivers Fight Back; Join Lawsuit to Challenge Chicago’s Cab Cartels
Armed with little more than their smartphones and cars, a small group of entrepreneurs are driving innovation in an industry that has been dominated by a cartel of cab owners and a regulatory framework originally…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Animal Massage Therapists Now Free to Practice Their Craft in Arizona
Massage therapists do not need a medical degree to massage humans, but entrepreneurs who want to massage animals in Arizona must spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend four years of veterinary school where…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Baked Fresh, Baked Free: Challenging Minnesota’s Restrictions on Selling Home-Baked Goods
Minnesota has slammed the oven door on bakers trying to make a home-based business out of satisfying Minnesotans’ sweet tooth.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Should African hair braiders have to build an entire barber college and become barbering instructors just to teach hair braiding? Texas officials think so.
Texas tried to force natural hair braiding schools to convert into fully-equipped barber colleges—solely to teach hair braiding—even though braiders aren’t barbers.
Economic Liberty | Transportation
Hillsborough County Transportation Commission vs. Consumers, a Driver and a Small Business: Government Commission Forces Consumers to Pay More; Prevents Competition and Job Creation
The Public Transportation Commission in Hillsborough County, Fla., forces customers to overpay for limousine services and prevents small business owners from offering better deals to potential customers.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Psychology Board Censors Advice Column: America’s Longest-Running Advice Columnist Files Free Speech Lawsuit After Being Threatened with Jail and Told to Stop Publishing His Column in Kentucky
John Rosemond’s lawsuit defends freedom of speech and freedom of the press from government officials who believe that it can be a crime in America to express an opinion in a newspaper.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening
Alabama Smiles: Entrepreneurs Fight Back Against Teeth-Whitening Monopolies
Alabama’s prohibition on non-dentist teeth whitening has nothing to do with protecting consumers and everything to do with protecting monopoly profits for dentists.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Health | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Retired Texas Vet’s Free-Speech Fight to Keep Helping Animals
The First Amendment should apply to licensed professionals who give advice over the Internet.
