October 1, 2023

IJ’s 400th Case!

Altimont Mark Wilks stands outside Carmen's Corner Store, his Hagerstown business. He is suing the USDA over a policy that prevents him from accepting SNAP benefits because of a decades-old arrest, for which he's already served his time.
Altimont Mark Wilks stands outside Carmen's Corner Store, his Hagerstown business. He is suing the USDA over a policy that prevents him from accepting SNAP benefits because of a decades-old arrest, for which he's already served his time.

Altimont’s case marks another major milestone for IJ: It is the 400th lawsuit we have filed in court!

In August, Altimont joined the more than 1,200 courageous clients who have fought alongside IJ since we opened our doors in 1991. Over the past three decades, we’ve helped return more than $21 million in wrongfully forfeited property, saved more than 20,000 homes and businesses from the government’s wrecking ball, and rolled back burdensome regulations in 44 mostly working-class occupations.

And we’re growing faster than ever in terms of cases and impact. Fully a quarter of those 400 cases were launched in just the past three years.

IJ’s Project on Immunity and Accountability contributed substantially to that growth, with 27 cases (including four featured in this issue) filed since its launch in early 2020. More recently, we created the Project on the Fourth Amendment to uphold the right to be secure in our persons and property against prying government eyes, and our caseload has grown substantially with that project as well.

As IJ has taken on more cases each year, those cases have also grown in complexity, with more than a dozen class actions on our active docket poised to help exponentially more people than ever before.

 Despite this unprecedented growth, IJ still wins more than 70% of our cases even in the face of entrenched government behemoths.

Thanks to our loyal supporters, we’re litigating our 400th—and counting!—case with the same care and dedication that we litigated our first, to ensure continued success in defending the constitutional rights of all Americans.

Share

Also in this Issue

Liberty & Law

Victory! Courthouse Doors Reopened for Forfeiture Victims

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

Appeals Court Brings Zombie-Joke Lawsuit Back From the Dead

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

IJ Wins Initial Fight for Texas Citizen Journalist

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

Stopping an End Run Around Government Accountability

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

FBI Returns Life Savings in Bid to Get Out of Lawsuit

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

SNAPping Back at the USDA

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

Victory in Action: Shelter Welcomes Those in Need

October 1, 2023

Carlos Pena points to a hole in a door at his North Hollywood printing shop, which was destroyed by an LAPD SWAT team in August 2022. The city refused to compensate Carlos.

Liberty & Law

SWAT Raid Causes Big Problem for Small Business

October 1, 2023

Pasadena, Texas, banned Azael Sepulveda from opening his one-man repair shop, Oz Mechanics, unless he provided 28 parking spaces.

Liberty & Law

IJ Never Stops Working for Our Clients

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

Home Business Win Isn’t Child’s Play

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

Chicago Entrepreneurs Think Outside the Box to Grow South Side Businesses

October 1, 2023

Liberty & Law

IJ Makes Headlines

October 1, 2023

Subscribe to get Liberty & Law magazine direct to your mailbox!

Sign up to receive IJ's bimonthly magazine, Liberty & Law, along with breaking news updates about the Institute for Justice's fight to protect the rights of all Americans.