IJ's Cases
Featured Cases
Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer
The Case April 3rd, 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 to the village of Beaver. Hidden in the passenger’s luggage, though, were two cases of Budweiser, along with four additional six-packs. They were intended as a gift to…
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U.S. Supreme Court Cases
IJ has argued 13 cases before the United States Supreme Court, winning 11. These landmark cases have expanded constitutional protections for all Americans.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
The FBI Raided the Wrong Home—the Government Refuses to Pay for the Damage
FBI agents raided the wrong home in suburban Atlanta. Now the federal government refuses to compensate the victims even though Congress passed a law permitting suits for damages caused by federal employees.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Taking on The Shell Games That Allow Federal/State Task Force Members To Violate Your Rights
After misidentifying him as a non-violent fugitive, police brutally beat James King, choked him unconscious, and then prosecuted him to hide their mistake.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Federal lawsuit seeks to revive the Fourth Amendment’s requirements for warrants
The Fourth Amendment requires that warrants be supported by “oath or affirmation” but that requirement means almost nothing today because of a decades old Supreme Court decision. Michael Mendenhall’s case could revive the original meaning and protect people from unreasonable searches.
All Cases
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
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.
Private Property
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 | Rule of Law
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.
Fines and Fees | Rule of Law
Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer
The Case April 3rd, 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…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Home Auto Shop Owners File Constitutional Challenge After Township Threatens to Shut Business Following Dispute with Township Supervisor
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.
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Albuquerque Bookstore Owner Partners with IJ to Defend Right to Provide Safe, Private Shelter
Gil Kerley, owner of Quirky Used Books & More in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sought to address the city’s worsening homelessness crisis by providing a safe and private space for homeless people…
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 places property owners in a Catch-22 when it comes to getting a fair price: accept a low-ball offer for their land or fight for a fair price out of their own pocket.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
She Spent Her Life Savings to Open a New Salon, Zoning Is Dashing Her Dreams
In Clayton County, Georgia, government officials blocked Khalilah Few from opening her natural hair salon—simply because they didn't think it’s the “right fit” for the neighborhood.
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Institute for Justice Sues Blaine, Minn., Over Illegal Denial of Permit for Family’s Backyard Home to Aid a Family in Need
A couple sought to build an accessory dwelling unit to rent at below-market rates to a family in need, but Blaine, Minnesota, unlawfully denied their permit.
Educational Choice
Wyoming Families Head to Court to Keep Education Choice Program Alive
Wyoming families intervene to defend education savings accounts for parents who choose alternatives to public school.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Local Small Business Developer Sues South Carolina Town Trying to Take His Property
A native of James Island, South Carolina, wants to develop thoughtful properties in his hometown. The town took his land using eminent domain based on a pretext.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
New Jersey Properties Blighted Just Because City Wants Them, Not Because Anything is Wrong With Them
Honey Meerzon and Luis Romero came from different backgrounds but have many things in common. Their parents both fled oppressive government regimes in search of a better life for their children.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Woman Traumatized by False Arrest Sues US Marshals
Penny McCarthy was mistaken for another woman and violently arrested by armed U.S. Marshals. She is suing over the violation of her Fourth Amendment rights.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Federal lawsuit seeks to revive the Fourth Amendment's requirements for warrants
The Fourth Amendment requires that warrants be supported by "oath or affirmation" but that requirement means almost nothing today because of a decades old Supreme Court decision. Michael Mendenhall's case could revive the original meaning and protect people from unreasonable searches.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Residents File Lawsuit Challenging Statute Permitting Game Wardens to Search Private Property Without Warrant
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.