IJ's Cases
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.
Economic Liberty | Transportation
Colorado Shuttle Monopoly
Abdallah Batayneh opened a shuttle company in Colorado with the goal of providing more affordable rides. But entrenched businesses got the government to use a “certificate of need” law to ban him from opening. Abdallah…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Baker v. City of McKinney — Texas SWAT Destruction
Police destroyed Vicki Baker’s home while pursuing a fugitive, costing her tens of thousands of dollars and leaving her daughter’s dog with hearing loss. The city refused to pay for the damage it caused. IJ…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Lantana Fines
Sandy Martinez received more than $100,000 in fines for how she parked on her own driveway. This excessive fine not only threatens to financially cripple Sandy, it’s also unconstitutional and is the reason she has…
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Nevada, Inc. v. Chandra
In an appeal filed in February 2021, the Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the question of whether federal judges have unfettered discretion to unilaterally inject their own arguments or…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Sierra Vista Zoning
Under the guise of “zoning,” the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona is threatening to kick residents out of their homes in the middle of a pandemic. With IJ’s help, these residents are fighting back to…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Wisconsin Cottage Foods II
Wisconsin bans the sale of many homemade foods, including common and shelf-stable foods like candies, chocolates, granola and roasted coffee beans. Seven Wisconsinites have joined with IJ to challenge the state’s arbitrary law.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Oklahoma Threading
Oklahoma requires eyebrow threaders to spend 600 hours learning skills that have nothing to do with eyebrow threading. This useless regulation prevents people from earning an honest living, which is why two eyebrow threaders have…
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…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
D.C. Teletherapy
Elizabeth Brokamp uses talk therapy to help people improve their lives. She’s licensed in Virginia, where she lives, near the border with D.C. But D.C. will not let her see clients online who she could…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
New York Permit Fines
Joe Corsini keeps a pigeon coop on the roof of his home, like many other New Yorkers. The city’s Department of Buildings saddled him with thousands of dollars in fines for not having a license…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Private Property
Eagle, WI Fines and Fees
The town of Eagle, WI works with a private law firm to punish residents who speak out against town officials by hitting them with excessive fines and fees through the code enforcement process. Victims of…
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
North Carolina Right to Shelter
The town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina attempted to block the only homeless shelter in the county from opening its doors at a new location, relying on bogus claims that the shelter would be “unharmonious”…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Gonzalez v. Trevino
After she won her election to city council, Sylvia Gonzalez immediately began getting harassed by city officials whom she had criticized in the past. It got so bad she was even arrested and thrown in…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Food Freedom
Oklahoma Compelled Speech
Oklahoma requires plant-based meat products to include a massive disclaimer on their label, similar to that seen on tobacco products. IJ is challenging this foolish regulation that does nothing to promote public safety and also…
Vermont Educational Choice
Vermont has one of the most robust school choice programs in the country, but there is one massive exception. The state does not provide the tuition benefit for parents who want to send their children…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
New Hampshire Town Tuitioning
The town of Croydon, New Hampshire does not operate a middle school and instead pays students’ tuition at nearby public or private schools. But a New Hampshire law prevented Croydon families from spending the money…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
North Carolina Amortization
Dennis and Peg Schroeder have invested substantial money in their home and chose to rent it out as part of their retirement plan. The city of Wilmington is trying to deprive them of their right…
North Carolina School Choice II
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program is the most popular school choice program in the state and offers a quality education for more than 12,000 students. Now, a coalition of parents has joined forces with IJ…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
South Carolina Civil Forfeiture
South Carolina’s civil forfeiture laws violate the rights of all South Carolinians to be free from excessive fines and fees. Caught up in this was Travis Green who had his money seized. Now, he is…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment
California End-of-Life Doulas
Akhila Murphy and Donna Peizer are end of life doulas – they offer families assistance during at-home funerals. They don’t direct funerals, but California has argued they are acting as unlicensed funeral directors. With the…
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start | Occupational Licensing
California Firefighter Fresh Start
Dario Gurrola is a part-time firefighter who wants to turn his passion into a full-time job. But California prevents him from getting an EMT license because of a prior criminal conviction for which he’s already…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Memphis Environmental Court
When a court proceeding may result in a person losing their home, the U.S. Constitution demands a fair process with rigorous safeguards against erroneous deprivation. But the process is Shelby County, Tennessee, is anything but…
Montana Doctor Dispensing
The vast majority of states allow patients to purchase medications directly from their prescribing doctor. For years, this practice was banned in Montana, until IJ stepped in to challenge the law and lawmakers immediately moved…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment
Yavapai Free Speech and Association
Yavapai County’s zoning system almost crippled Joshua’s and Emily’s wedding retreat business that they were running on their property. The pandemic made it impossible to pursue their legal claims, and so we voluntarily dismissed their…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Lincoln, NE Cottage Foods
Lincoln, Nebraska imposed restrictions on home bakers that the state itself decided to get rid of. One home baker named Cindy Baker teamed up with IJ to successfully challenge Lincoln’s foolish restriction.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
New Orleans Ankle Monitors
Judges must be impartial when deciding to deprive a person of his or her property. Unfortunately, one judge in New Orleans has been ordering individuals to wear an ankle monitor from a company in which…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Utah Private Investigators
Jeremy Barnes is a former police officer who runs his own private investigator company in Idaho, near the Utah border. Utah has prevented Jeremy from earning an honest living because he lives three minutes across…
Nebraska CON
Marc is allowed to drive customers to the grocery store, but if he wants to drive them to the pharmacy or a routine doctor’s appointment, he needs permission from his competitors. This nonsensical rule hurts…
North Carolina CON II
The government should never prevent doctors from safely providing affordable health care services their patients need. But that’s exactly what North Carolina, along with 34 other states, do every day. Dr. Jay Singleton is working…