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Vietnam Vet Assaulted by Fed. Police Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider His Fourth Amendment Lawsuit

June 22, 2021

Fight Against FBI's Efforts to Steal Over $85M Using Civil Forfeiture Expands

June 15, 2021

Less than 1% of the nearly 10,000 charities rated have received at least 18 consecutive 4-star ratings

Minnesota DNR Announces One-Month Delay On Controversial Roseau Lake Project Environmental Impact Statement
Unique Richmond Publisher Will Appeal After D.C. Judge Insists It Must Give the Government Free Copies of Its Books
Washington Woman Claims Victory for the Right to Feed Others in Need
New Report Uncovers the Shocking Student Debt Burden Utah Beauty School Students Take On
New Report Uncovers the Shocking Student Debt Burden Beauty School Students Take On
State Con Law Case of the Week: How “Explicit” Must the Administrative State Be?
Federal Judge Again Slams the Door on FBI Efforts to Forfeit Property Seized in U.S. Private Vaults Raid

Minnesota DNR Announces One-Month Delay On Controversial Roseau Lake Project Environmental Impact Statement

An Environmental Impact Statement would provide much-needed information about the environmental damage the project will cause to the area

ROSEAU, Minn.—Yesterday morning, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced a 30-day delay on the decision about whether or not it will issue an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Roseau Lake Rehabilitation Project. The project has generated controversy for its effects on the productive farmland owned by over fifty families who’ve farmed the…

Unique Richmond Publisher Will Appeal After D.C. Judge Insists It Must Give the Government Free Copies of Its Books

U.S. Copyright Office demands books, threatens thousands in fines, offers nothing in return

WASHINGTON—Valancourt Books, a small Richmond publisher, will appeal a decision issued today by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia holding that Valancourt must provide the government with free copies of its books. In 2018, Valancourt teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Copyright Office after…

Washington Woman Claims Victory for the Right to Feed Others in Need

Clarkston homeowner wins right to run a “Little Free Pantry”

CLARKSTON, Wash.—When Kathy Hay saw her neighbors in need, she decided to help. She decided the best way to meet that need was to build a “little free pantry” to share food with her community. The idea took off immediately, and Kathy’s neighbors pitched in and donated enough food to serve dozens of people in…

New Report Uncovers the Shocking Student Debt Burden Utah Beauty School Students Take On

Cosmetology students rarely graduate on time and struggle to earn enough to pay their loans

ARLINGTON, Va.—A new report reveals for the first time the shocking amount of debt Utah beauty school students take on only to end up in jobs that rarely pay off in terms of earnings. The examination of federal data on cosmetology schools nationwide shows that state-mandated education often fails aspiring beauty workers. Specifically, the new…

New Report Uncovers the Shocking Student Debt Burden Beauty School Students Take On

Cosmetology students borrow more in federal student loans than most students, rarely graduate on time and struggle to earn enough to pay their loans

ARLINGTON, Va.—A new report out today reveals for the first time the shocking amount of debt beauty school students take on only to end up in jobs that rarely pay off in terms of earnings. The examination of federal data on cosmetology schools nationwide shows that state-mandated education often fails aspiring beauty workers. Specifically, the…

State Con Law Case of the Week: How “Explicit” Must the Administrative State Be?

Can “explicit” mean “broad”? Or if a law is “broad” is it by definition not explicit? That is, does “explicit” actually mean “specific”? Last week the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a case where the outcome depended upon the answers to these questions. And although the case concerned statutory interpretation, surrounding it were all manner…

Federal Judge Again Slams the Door on FBI Efforts to Forfeit Property Seized in U.S. Private Vaults Raid

Court again tells government that it cannot take people’s property without first saying what it thinks they did wrong

LOS ANGELES—In an order issued this morning, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner stopped the government from permanently taking the property of two people who rented boxes at U.S. Private Vaults. Joseph Ruiz and Travis May each had their valuables seized during the FBI’s March raid on the business. And while neither has been accused…

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Economic Liberty

The right to earn a living in the occupation of your choice without unnecessary government interference is at the heart of the American Dream.
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Educational Choice

School choice is simply the idea that all parents, regardless of means, should enjoy the freedom to choose what schools their children attend.
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First Amendment

We seek to defend the free flow of information—information that is indispensable to our democratic form of government and to our free enterprise economy.
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Private Property

Respecting the right of private property is essential to a just and prosperous society. But government at all levels—local, state and federal—routinely infringe on these rights.
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February 10, 2021 | Strategic Research

Does Forfeiture Work?
December 14, 2020 | Strategic Research

Policing for Profit

Natu Bah

Randy Sowers

Randy Sowers has run a dairy farm in Frederick County, Md. since 1981. But in 2012, the IRS seized the farm’s bank account because the Sowers deposited the cash in amounts under $10,000.

Mats Järlström

Mats Järlström is a Swedish-born electronics engineer and has the equivalent of a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. After his wife received a ticket based on a red-light camera in Beaverton, Oregon, Mats began criticizing the math behind red-light cameras. But Oregon’s engineer-licensing board considered Mats’ traffic-light critiques to be the unlicensed practice of engineering and fined him $500.

Carl and Joy Gamble

Norwood, Ohio wanted to bulldoze Carl and Joy’s home of more than three decades to make way for a private developer.

Flor Morency

Flor Morency is the mother of twin children, a boy and a girl, who have received scholarships through Nevada’s program. But in July, Morency was told that her children could no longer receive a scholarship because a new state law made it statistically impossible to grant scholarships to all renewing students.

Lata Jagtiani

Lata has been threading since she was a teenager in India and saw a need for threading services in the New Orleans metropolitan area. But in June 2016, state regulators fined her business for employing unlicensed threaders, and ordered Lata to fire her unlicensed employees.

August Kersten

August “Augie” Kersten is a co-owner of the Lonesome Dove saloon in Mandan, North Dakota. He started the Lonesome Dove 28 years ago with Brian Berube. The two commissioned a mural for the front of their saloon, which triggered a notice of violation from Mandan, which chided Augie and Brian for displaying art on their own property without first getting the city’s OK.

Janice Craig

Janice received a $215 fine for “failure to obey traffic signs or control” in Doraville, Georgia. If she can, Janice now goes out of her way to avoid Doraville.

Sally Ladd

Sally Ladd is a New Jersey-based entrepreneur who provides short-term vacation property management services in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. But after Pennsylvania wanted her to obtain a real-estate broker’s license, which requires her to spend three years working for an established broker, Sally felt forced to shut down her business.

Bryan Singer and Erika Nordyke

Anubis and Adonai Avalos

Jeremy Barnes

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.

Bob McGinnity

Bob and Michael do not know where they will go if they lose their homes. But they do know they have a right to stay and to keep what they have worked all their lives for.

Isis Brantley

For decades, Isis Brantley has fought for her right to braid hair and to pass on her knowledge to others. She successfully sued the state of Texas after it attempted to force her to turn her braiding school into a barber college.

Tameka Stigers

IJ client Tameka Stigers is the proud owner of a braiding business, but Missouri’s arbitrary and irrational cosmetology regime threatens her livelihood.

Amanda Root

Dario Gurrola

Joshua Killeen

The Kazazi Family

The Kazazi family epitomizes the American Dream, working hard and saving their money.

Danielle Mickelson

John Rosemond

John Rosemond’s lawsuit defends freedom of speech and freedom of the press from government officials who believe that it can be a crime in America to express an opinion in a newspaper.

Jeff Hirsch

Jeff has spent almost 30 years building a successful small business with his brothers, distributing candy, snacks and other goods to convenience stores throughout Long Island. But the government raided the business’s bank account using civil forfeiture—taking $446,000 and nearly destroying the family business. T

Cynthia Perry

IJ client Cynthia Perry wants to send her daughter, Faith, to a private school in North Carolina, but she cannot afford the tuition on her own. She needs the financial lifeline of an Opportunity Scholarship.

Charlie Birnbaum

Charlie Birnbaum is fighting to keep his family home in Atlantic City, N.J., which has been in his family for 50 years. But New Jersey wants to take it for the benefit of a bankrupt casino.

Achan Agit

Achan works in fear that Iowa will punish her for providing her services without a license. If she could braid without a license, she would reopen her salon, grow her business and better provide for her family.

Jeff Thornton

Jeff Thornton didn’t receive a phone call, but a “notice of arrest warrant.” Although he never received a ticket, the city had issued a warrant for his arrest.

Gallo Family

Liz Robbins

Liz has seven children, three of whom have a severe tissue disorder called EDS which requires constant medical attention. Liz needs Nevada’s ESA so she can design a quality education for her youngest EDS child, Dallin, who will likely miss a lot of school in the future.

Martha Rabello

Martha is a stay-at-home mom with two sons, a 5-year old and a 2-year old. She has baked her whole life and is professionally trained. Martha is Brazilian and lived in Brazil for 25 years, and she would like to start a home business focusing on Brazilian-inspired cookies.

Sarah Hohenberg

Peg and David Schroeder

Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto

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

Michael Jensen

Michael Jensen would like Dr. Birchansky to perform his next needed eye surgery at the outpatient center next to Dr. Birchansky’s office because it is a safe, less costly, convenient, and familiar environment. Unfortunately Iowa’s CON law is denying him that choice.

Joey Vanoni

The owner and operator of the Pizza di Joey food truck, Joey is challenging Baltimore’s 300-foot rule because it threatens his lifelong dream of owning his own pizza business. He also believes that the city shouldn’t be limiting hungry Baltimoreans’ dining choices.

Catherine H. Barber Memorial Shelter

Lij Shaw

Elijah “Lij” Shaw is a single father and lifelong record producer and recorded nationally renowned, Grammy Award-winning performers like Adele, John Oates, Jack White and Wilco. After his daughter was born, Lij decided to convert his garage into a soundproofed recording studio, which he used without any complaints for over a decade. But now Nashville is threatening to destroy Lij’s investment and uproot him from his neighborhood.

Dan Staackmann

Dan Staackmann is the founder and president of Upton’s Naturals, an independently-owned, ethical vegan food company based in Chicago. Mississippi’s ban on using “veggie burgers” and other meat terms in their labeling will have a devastating effect on companies like Upton’s Naturals.

Anthonia Nwaorie

A registered nurse and grandmother from Katy, Texas, Anthonia had over $40,000 in cash seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She was heading to Nigeria and planned to use the money to help family and to built a new medical clinic. Anthonia is now the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against CBP’s policies of seizing cash and demanding owners waive away their constitutional rights to recover their money.

Shazia Ittiq

Amanda Wink

Norys Hernandez

Norys Hernandez co-owns a home in North Philadelphia with her sister, who resides there. Norys has never been in trouble with the law. But her home was seized after her nephew was caught selling a small amount of drugs outside the home.

Lisa Kivirist

Lisa Kivirist is a mother, farmer, business owner and avid baker. Lisa typically serves muffins and other baked goods at her B&B for breakfast, but the baked-good ban prohibits her from selling these same exact goods to guests.

Jason and Jacki Wiebesick

Jason and Jacki have owned their property in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis, for decades. But the city hasn’t respected their tenants’ wishes and instead has tried to obtain unconstitutional “administrative” warrants to force its way inside.

Kriss Marion

Kriss Marion is the founder of her local farmers’ market in Blanchardville, Wisconsin. But under the state’s ban on selling home-baked goods, Kriss must instead give her extra baked goods away or feed them to her pigs and chickens.

Dalanea Taylor

Jim and Cliff Courtney

Jim and Cliff Courtney have a plan to bring economic prosperity to their small community. Unfortunately, the state of Washington has sunk their plan with a law that requires them to obtain a certificate of “public convenience and necessity” from the state in order to pick up and drop off passengers.

Shelia Champion

Shelia Champion lives in Hazel Green, Alabama and operates a cemetery, The Good Earth Burial Ground.

John Hart

John Hart is a New York Times bestselling author who has won several awards for his character-driven, literary thrillers. A former defense attorney and stockbroker, John lives on a farm in Virginia where he writes full-time. But Charlottesville and Albemarle County require a business license to write novels, and they have assessed thousands of dollars in back taxes against Corban and other hardworking freelance writers.

Josefina Lozano

Josefina Lozano immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico as a child and has run her own real estate investing business since 1984. She purchased two multi-family properties in Zion, Illinois and has been renting them out for decades. Josefina is unwilling to make her tenants give up their constitutional rights, even though the city government is threatening massive fines.

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Supreme Court Will Hear Potentially Landmark Maine School Choice Case

Institute for Justice

Homepage

Vietnam Vet Assaulted by Fed. Police Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider His Fourth Amendment Lawsuit

Fight Against FBI's Efforts to Steal Over $85M Using Civil Forfeiture Expands

Less than 1% of the nearly 10,000 charities rated have received at least 18 consecutive 4-star ratings

Conor Beck | Press Release | July 27, 2021

An Environmental Impact Statement would provide much-needed information about the environmental damage the project will cause to the area

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | July 23, 2021

U.S. Copyright Office demands books, threatens thousands in fines, offers nothing in return

Conor Beck | Press Release | July 22, 2021

Clarkston homeowner wins right to run a “Little Free Pantry”

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | July 22, 2021

Cosmetology students rarely graduate on time and struggle to earn enough to pay their loans

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | July 22, 2021

Cosmetology students borrow more in federal student loans than most students, rarely graduate on time and struggle to earn enough to pay their loans

Anthony Sanders | Center for Judicial Engagement | July 16, 2021

Andrew Wimer | Press Release | July 16, 2021

Court again tells government that it cannot take people’s property without first saying what it thinks they did wrong

Our Issues

Economic Liberty

Educational Choice

First Amendment

Private Property

PODCAST

CJE PODCAST

SUPPORT OUR WORK

The National Law Firm for Liberty

Our Videos

Our Research

February 10, 2021 | Strategic Research

December 14, 2020 | Strategic Research

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