Ron Mugar

Ron Mugar is an avid machinist who loves to build things: solar arrays, a hybrid-cell go-kart, and classic cars. After retiring from a career in graphic design, he became a hobby machinist. He first began building things as a kid, but he now pushes himself with bigger and bolder projects.

Sarah Hohenberg

Bill Von Winkle

Bill Von Winkle’s Fort Trumbull Deli served oversized hoagies to eager customers from 1986 until 2001 when the New London Development Corporation’s actions forced the Von Winkles to shut it down and forgo its income.

Ricardo Quintanilla

Ricardo Quintanilla operates Tacos el Regio but San Antonio’s vending restrictions make it difficult to operate.

Dale Sorcher

Dale Sorcher has cared for infants and toddlers at a Jewish day care on and off since 1996 and holds two masters degrees, one in social work and one in expressive therapy. Unfortunately, under a new regulation in the District of Columbia, her experience does not qualify her to keep her job.

Stacy Jones

Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto

Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto, a Democrat representing Bernalillo County, carried the Forfeiture Reform bill on the floor of the Senate.

Jim Ficken

Jim Ficken is a 69-year-old retiree living in a modest two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Dunedin, Florida. For letting his lawn grow too long, Jim faces nearly $29,000 in fines and has been threatened with foreclosure.

Ken Quran

Khalid (“Ken”) Quran moved to America in 1997, and now runs a convenience store in Greenville, N.C. But the government seized his entire bank account—more than $150,000—even though he was never charged with a crime.

Ash Patel

Ash Patel moved to Texas from India to pursue his American Dream of opening up an eyebrow threading salon. But in 2009, Texas demanded that eyebrow threaders obtain an expensive cosmetology license—even though beauty schools teach absolutely nothing about eyebrow threading. Ash shut down his successful business to avoid paying $2,000 in fines. He teamed up with the Institute for Justice to vindicate his rights. Six years later, IJ scored one of its most important economic liberty victories when the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state had violated the Texas Constitution by ordering threaders to obtain 750 hours of conventional cosmetology training. Threaders all over Texas are now free to work without having to obtain a government-issued license.

Allie Nelson

Allie Nelson, a retired law enforcement officer, was born and raised in Chicago and has lived in the city most of her life. In February 2018, an administrative law officer determined that Nelson was liable for nearly $6,000 in fines and fees, even though Nelson was not in the city when the car was impounded, and all charges were dropped against the driver.

Leo, Alfonsina and John Lech

Leo, Alfonsina and John Lech, are seeking compensation for the destruction of a home Leo and Alfonsina owned (and in which their son John lived with his own family) in Greenwood Village, Colo.

Elizabeth Brokamp