The Institute for Justice litigates to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. IJ defends ordinary people who want to earn an honest living, own and enjoy their property, speak freely, and give their children a good education but find that the government is standing in their way.
We fight to hold government officials accountable when they violate constitutional rights and to prevent governments at all levels from bending the rules to expand their power or advance illegitimate ends.
IJ wins three out of four cases through outright courtroom victories or legislative change prompted by our lawsuits.
Featured Cases
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
New lawsuits seek return of coins and cash seized in 2021 FBI raid
After giving up on using civil forfeiture to claim their safe deposit boxes, the FBI did not return all of Don, Jeni, and Michael’s property. They are suing to get their missing coins and cash…
Lawsuit from Oklahoma Small Business Challenges Administrative Courts Handing Down Ruinous Fines
Danny Barbee and his wife Diana together run ProCraft Masonry, LLC, a small masonry company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Danny is a fourth-generation bricklayer and Diana has worked at ProCraft since its founding in 2010. Their…
First Amendment | Occupational Speech
Small Business Owner Challenges Indiana’s Unconstitutional Restrictions on Discussing End-of-Life Care
To many, death is a taboo subject. But not to Lauren Richwine, founder of Death Done Differently, a consultant who specializes in helping those with a terminal diagnosis and their families plan for the final…
Task-Force Immunity and Accountability
Can a local police offifcer launder her lies and deceit through a state-federal task force to hide behind absolute federal immunity? IJ doesn’t think so, but with the help of the federal government, St. Paul…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
New lawsuits seek return of coins and cash seized in 2021 FBI raid
After giving up on using civil forfeiture to claim their safe deposit boxes, the FBI did not return all of Don, Jeni, and Michael's property. They are suing to get their missing coins and cash…
Lawsuit from Oklahoma Small Business Challenges Administrative Courts Handing Down Ruinous Fines
Danny Barbee and his wife Diana together run ProCraft Masonry, LLC, a small masonry company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Danny is a fourth-generation bricklayer and Diana has worked at ProCraft since its founding in 2010. Their…
First Amendment | Occupational Speech
Small Business Owner Challenges Indiana’s Unconstitutional Restrictions on Discussing End-of-Life Care
To many, death is a taboo subject. But not to Lauren Richwine, founder of Death Done Differently, a consultant who specializes in helping those with a terminal diagnosis and their families plan for the final…
Task-Force Immunity and Accountability
Can a local police offifcer launder her lies and deceit through a state-federal task force to hide behind absolute federal immunity? IJ doesn’t think so, but with the help of the federal government, St. Paul…
Louisiana Inmate Held 525 Days Past His Release Seeks Justice
Percy Taylor was kept in a Louisiana prison 525 days past his release date. He is not alone in being held beyond his sentence in a Louisiana detention facility. In January 2023, the U.S. Department…
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Maryland small business owner files federal lawsuit against USDA over policy of permanent punishment for crime for which he already served his time
When the government judges someone’s integrity, it should do so based on who they are today—not who they were 20 years ago. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), however, imposes a permanent ban from…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Innocent small business owner fights for compensation after shop destroyed by SWAT team
For thirty years, Carlos Pena ran a print shop in North Hollywood. His world was turned upside down, however, in August 2022, when a fugitive forced his way into Carlos’s shop and barricaded himself inside…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
The government can’t steal your cameras and use them to spy on you
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
Lawsuit seeks to hold law enforcement accountable for violating Texan’s constitutional rights
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…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Lawsuit Challenges Department of Labor’s Use of Administrative Law Judges to Hand Down Ruinous Fines
When the Department of Labor decided to fine Chuck Saine tens of thousands of dollars, Chuck did not get to make his case to a jury of his peers—or even a real federal judge. Instead,…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
When the government seizes property from people without justification, and they have to spend money to get their property back, they deserve to be made whole.
Brian Moore fought to get his property back from the federal government and he won. In 2021, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents seized $8,500 in cash from him at Atlanta’s airport while he was waiting…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Group of Property Owners Team Up to Fight Back Against Private Railroad’s Attempt to Take Their Property
A group of property owners in Sparta, Georgia has teamed up to fight back against a private railroad's attempt to take their land.
