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
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Montana Moms Seek to Restore School Choice Program that was Struck Down for Including Religious Options
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…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Policing for Profit in St. Louis Co. Municipal Court System
Case Video Complaint Latest Release…
