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.

IJ clients like Elijah and Ashley Durham stand for their rights and the rights of others.

Featured Cases

Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property

Winston-Salem Tries to Control Who Can Visit Private Property

Kimberly Dunckel and her family founded Fairytale Farm Animal Sanctuary to give neglected and special-needs farm animals a “happily ever after.” Their 3.3-acre property provides a place where the public could learn from and…

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Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech

Mississippi Regulatory Board Sues Tech Entrepreneurs to Prevent Competition

An overly-broad statute defined a small mapping company in Mississippi as an “unlicensed surveying” company. This statute would have shut down Vizaline, but with help from IJ, Vizaline fought back to protect its First Amendment…

Lactation, Laws, Mothers, Consultants, Babies

Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing

Georgia Lactation Consultants

For decades, Mary Jackson has worked as a lactation consultant, helping new moms and babies during a critical time in their lives. Then one day, Georgia passed the nation’s most restrictive licensing regime for lactation…

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Puerto Rico School Choice

In March 2018, the Puerto Rican legislature enacted the Free School Selection Program, which gives needy families scholarships so that they can send their children to the school of their choice. A teachers’ union immediately…

Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Food Freedom | Food Freedom

Maryland Dairy Farmers Sue for Right to Tell the Truth

The FDA prevented Randy Sowers from labelling his skim milk as “skim milk” even though that’s exactly what it is. The First Amendment protects Randy’s right to tell the truth about his product, and after…