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.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Georgia Botched Raid
An ordinary, quiet morning turned into a nightmare for Cathy George. More than a dozen heavily armed law enforcement officers stormed her apartment, looking for a fugitive who had no connection to Cathy and who…
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…
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.
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Wenatchee Soup Kitchen
Hungry people in Wenatchee, Washington, are facing the winter cold without the hot meals they once relied on after the city abruptly shut down Lighthouse Christian Ministries’ soup kitchen last summer. The city did this…
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
Chad Trausch and his wife’s family was growing, so he decided to expand his Miami home. But when he submitted plans for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom addition, the city came back with a strange request: it…
Private Property | Rental Caps
NYC Vacant Apartments
New York City has a housing shortage. At the same time, tens of thousands of apartments sit vacant because New York’s Rent Stabilization Law (NYRSL) makes it economically unfeasible for building owners to lease them. The NYRSL was originally enacted in the 1970s as an emergency measure…
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
Kamiwan Oliver and her family raise chickens for their eggs and meat to lessen the burden of grocery bills on their tight family budget. The Olivers’ tidy coop sits in their backyard, and each day…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Texas Cultivated Meat
Institute for Justice Partners with Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods to Sue Texas to End Ban on Sale of Cultivated Meat Driven by a vision to transform how the world thinks about food, Wildtype and UPSIDE…
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
Zoning laws were never meant to give government the power to erase a harmless, beloved 24-year-old business. Yet that’s exactly what North Whitehall Township is doing to Gene and Debbie Weierbach’s auto repair shop—weaponizing the…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Albuquerque Homelessness
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 to sleep on his…