Featured Cases
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
George Retes Federal Officer Accountability
Ventura, California
George Retes, a U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran, was detained for three days after encountering an ICE roadblock on his way to work.
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Private Property
San Jose License Plate Readers
San Jose residents file federal class action lawsuit challenging city’s use of nearly 500 license plate read cameras.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
U.S. Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards
In 2016, the Department of Labor demanded $550,000 from a family farm in southern New Jersey. In their case, the agency served as prosecutor, judge, and jury, and the agency won every time. The brothers…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Leonard Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission
North Dakota ranchers fought a pipeline company with eminent domain power for the fair value of their land. But an appeals court said the company did not have to pay the ranchers’ attorney fees. That…
IJ Protects COnstitutional Rights
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.
See IJ’s Supreme Court Cases
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Maine Mistaken Identity
Parents sue after a SWAT team detained their innocent 16-year-old son at gunpoint as he walked to lunch.
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Wenatchee Soup Kitchen
Lighthouse Christian Ministries is suing after Wenatchee officials revoked the soup kitchen's permit without warning, shutting down a vital resource that served 75-100 people daily.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
McKinnon v. Hernandez
A Dallas bar owner asks the Supreme Court to deny immunity to the police detective who led a bogus investigation against him.
Miami Permit Takings
A Miami homeowner and Navy veteran is challenging the city's practice of demanding that permit applicants surrender portions of their property without just compensation.
Private Property | Rental Caps
NYC Vacant Apartments
Small property owners challenge New York's rent stabilization laws on vacant apartments, which keep tens of thousands of units empty amid a housing crisis.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Columbia, South Carolina Home Swim Lessons
Libby Souder legally taught swim lessons in her backyard for years, then Columbia, S.C. changed its tune and banned her business.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
George Retes Federal Officer Accountability
George Retes, a U.S. citizen and Iraq War veteran, was detained for three days after encountering an ICE roadblock on his way to work.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Alabama Construction Site Raids
A U.S. citizen, who was wrongly detained twice, is suing to stop unconstitutional raids on private construction sites.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Maine Backyard Chickens
A family is using Maine's first-in-the-nation Right to Food amendment to challenge a small town ordinance effectively bans backyard chickens.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Texas Cultivated Meat
Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods challenge Texas's ban on cultivated meat. Texas’ ban is about one thing: protecting in-state agricultural interest from innovative, out-of-state competition.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Jouppi v. Alaska
April 3, 2012, began like any other day for Ken Jouppi, a longtime bush pilot in Alaska. He was scheduled to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks 110 miles north to the village…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Pennsylvania Home Auto Shop
A Pennsylvania man who has operated an auto repair business on his 16-acre property for 24 years faces shutdown from the township zoning board.