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
North Carolina School Choice II
North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program is the most popular school choice program in the state and offers a quality education for more than 12,000 students. Now, a coalition of parents has joined forces with IJ…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Tennessee School Choice
In 2019, Tennessee enacted an Education Savings Account that helped thousands of low-and-middle-income students receive a quality education. A year later, the mayor of Nashville announced a lawsuit attacking the program. A group of Tennessee…
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Nevada Tax Credit Scholarships
In 2019, lawmakers in Nevada passed a law that undermines the state’s successful school choice program by reducing the number of available tax credits. Nevada parents, a scholarship organization, and private donors teamed up with…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Carson v. Makin
Video Interview with Attorney and Parent Supreme Court Decision School Choice Myths & Realities…
Washington Work Study
Summit Christian Academy wanted to hire college students to be tutors under the state’s work-study program, but Washington officials barred the academy from doing so, simply because it’s a religious school. After IJ got involved…
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…
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided one of the most important education reform cases in the past half-century. This landmark case held that the U.S. Constitution does not allow states to discriminate…
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Georgia School Choice
Georgia’s school choice program gives thousands of parents an opportunity to find a school that best fits their children’s needs without using a single cent of state funds.
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
North Carolina School Choice
Through the Opportunity Scholarship Program, North Carolina is giving low-income families the same educational choices that wealthier families already enjoy.