Featured Cases
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer
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 of Beaver. Hidden in the passenger’s luggage, though, were three cases of beer—two Budweiser, one Bud Light—intended as a gift to her husband, who worked…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
US Citizen and Army Veteran George Retes Sues Over Unconstitutional Immigration Detention
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.
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Family Farm Facing Ruinous Fines Sues Agency that Acts as Prosecutor, Judge and Jury
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
Stiffed by a Pipeline Company Wielding Eminent Domain, Plains Ranchers Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
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
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation
Arizona Educator Sues County Attorney Whose Hired Thugs Bullied Him Out of Election Campaign
Fernie Madrid ran for school superintendent in Apache, but he was running against the wife of the County Attorney, Michael Whiting. Whiting used his employees to retaliate against Fernie and bully him out of the…
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing
Small Business Challenges Oklahoma's Unconstitutional Restrictions on Casket Sales
Small business challenges Oklahoma's unconstitutional restrictions on casket sales…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Portland Family Files Lawsuit After SWAT Team Arrested Innocent 16-Year-Old at Gunpoint
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
Lighthouse Sues Wenatchee for Shuttering Soup Kitchen to Satisfy Politically Connected Complainers
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
Dallas Bar Owner Asks Supreme Court to Let His Suit Over Bogus Prosecution Move Forward
A Dallas bar owner asks the Supreme Court to deny immunity to the police detective who led a bogus investigation against him.
Miami's Unconstitutional Land Taking Scheme Targets More Than a Thousand Homeowners Across the City
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
Lawsuit Challenges New York Law That Keeps Apartments Off the Market During a Housing Crisis
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
Swim Instructor Sues After City Changed Its Tune and Banned Her Backyard Business
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
US Citizen and Army Veteran George Retes Sues Over Unconstitutional Immigration Detention
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
U.S. Citizen Demands End to Unconstitutional Raids and Detentions
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 Family Sues to Keep Chickens After City Ban
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
Institute for Justice Partners with Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods to Sue Texas to End Ban on Sale of 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.