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…
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
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
AirBnB Property Manager Files Constitutional Challenge To Pa. Real Estate Licensing Regime
Sally helps people list their homes for short-term vacation rentals, but one day she received a call from the Pennsylvania Department of State arguing she was engaging in unlicensed real estate. She was told she…
Derby City Betting Against Food Trucks
City Council members in Louisville worked closely with established brick-and-mortar restaurants to keep out food truck competition. IJ secured a federal court order barring the city from discriminating against food trucks and then successfully worked…
Ending Iowa's CON Laws That Limit Medical Options and Enrich Established Businesses
For more than twenty years, Dr. Lee Birchansky tried to offer his patients the option of having their cataract and other outpatient eye surgeries in a center right next to his office in Cedar Rapids.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Illegal Math? A state board in Oregon is punishing people for talking about traffic lights and any other “engineering” topics
Mats Järlström is an engineer, and he used those skills to criticize the formula used on red lights, suggesting the yellow lights should last a little longer. He was hit with a $500 fine from…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Sign Codes
Mario, the Classic Video Game Character, Fights City Hall
The town of Orange Park, Florida banned Scott Fisher from putting an inflatable blow-up of the video game character Mario in front of his video game store. IJ and Scott challenged the town’s law that…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Wine
Minnesota Farm Wineries Fight for Free Trade
A little-known but onerous state law prevented Minnesota vineyards from making a majority of their wine from grapes grown outside Minnesota. IJ partnered with two vineyards to fight this law, and eventually a federal district…
4th Amendment Project | Private Property | Rental Inspections
Pennsylvania Tenants and Landlord Challenge Unconstitutional Inspections of Homes
Pottstown, Pennsylvania has a rental inspection law that forces landlords and tenants to open their properties and homes to submit to intrusive inspections. On behalf of multiple tenants and a landlord, IJ is challenging this…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Eminent Domain in Disguise: Putting an End to Charlestown, Ind.’s Unconstitutional Home Inspection Scheme
A small-town mayor in rural Indiana has made it his personal mission to oust the residents of a tight-knit working-class neighborhood, bulldoze their homes and build a fancy new subdivision for much wealthier people. The…
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Innocent Couple Challenges Arizona’s Rigged Civil Forfeiture System
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…