IJ's Cases
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Meridian, Idaho Tiny Homes
Chasidy Decker is a native to the Boise area who wants to live in the tiny home that suits her.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Mario Rosales Qualified Immunity
Mario Rosales was held at gunpoint by an off-duty sheriff's deputy even though he had done nothing wrong. Still, a court granted the officer qualified immunity and dismissed Mario's civil rights lawsuit.
4th Amendment Project | First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability | Political Speech | Private Property
East Cleveland Retaliation
Cities can’t use the police to punish political speech.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Minnesota CSI
Can any government employee—such as a highway engineer who was never granted any police authority whatsoever—pull you over and detain you? Yes, at least if one federal appeals court gets its way.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
USPS Mail Seizure
The U.S. Post Office cannot open someone's mail without getting a warrant.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Knoxville Radio
Joe Armstrong brought Black community focused radio back on the air in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now he's fighting the FCC for his license, not for anything he put out over the air, but for an old…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation
Wisconsin Defamation
National Public Interest Law Firm Joins Fight to End Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuit in Wisconsin. IJ Defends a Community Activist Against a Village Attorney’s Frivolous and Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuit…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Midland Prosecutor
Everybody knows your prosecutor can’t also be your judge. Everyone, that is, except for former Midland County, Texas, prosecutor Ralph Petty, his supervisor, and the county’s entire system of justice. Petty spent 20 years moonlighting…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
New York Forfeiture Appeal
Cristal Starling runs a mobile food cart in Rochester, New York, to provide for herself and her grandnephew. She dreamed of expanding the business into a food truck, and she saved enough money to do…
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Brookside, Alabama Fines
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks…
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Idaho Braiding
Three braiders in Idaho challenged state requirements to spend thousands of dollars and a year of their lives for an unnecessary license.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Texas Home Day Care
Bianca King is a single mother with two young children. Until recently, she was able to raise her 2-and 4-year-old kids while making a living running a small day care out of her home. But…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
West Virginia School Choice
West Virginia parents intervene to defend one of the nation's best school choice programs to help obtain the education that will best meet the needs of their children.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Empyreal Forfeiture
An armored car company sued after a California sheriff teamed up with federal law enforcement to take proceeds from legal cannabis businesses.
Ohio School Choice
Two of Ohio’s most popular educational choice programs are under attack. This IJ suit seeks to defend these programs, which tens of thousands of Ohio students depend on.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Pennsylvania Open Fields
For years, wildlife officers in Pennsylvania have been ignoring the privacy rights of hunters under the so-called “open fields doctrine,” which posits that private land doesn’t receive privacy protections. This IJ suit challenges the constitutionality…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Pollreis Cert Petition
A police officer in Arkansas held two innocent children at gun point when he was supposed to be searching for an adult suspect. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to hear the family’s case and…
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Texas Mechanic
Azael Sepulveda recently purchased a new mechanic shop, but the city of Pasadena will not let him open until he provides 28 parking spaces, which he does not need. Azael has partnered with IJ to…
4th Amendment Project | Business Inspections | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Ohio Warrantless Inspections
A taxidermist was threatened with jail time after he asked a wildlife officer to get a warrant before searching his property. With the help of IJ, he’s fighting back to protect the privacy rights of…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Civil Forfeiture Class Action
In Indiana, prosecutors profit off the civil forfeiture cases they prosecute, creating perverse incentives that strips Hoosiers of their basic due process rights. A federal class action lawsuit from IJ seeks to end for-profit prosecutions…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Georgia Tiny Homes
Tiny House Hand Up is a nonprofit that builds affordable tiny homes for people in Calhoun, Georgia. But the city of Calhoun’s unconstitutional ban on building tiny homes has prevented THHU from helping people in…
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start | Occupational Licensing
Virginia Fresh Start
Rudy Carey wants to help people overcome addiction through counseling, but Virginia has decided he cannot do so because he has a prior criminal conviction. The Constitution protects Rudy’s right to earn an honest living,…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Wilmington Impound
Wilmington, Delaware partners with a private towing company to tow any car that has more than $200 in unpaid parking fines. The private company makes a profit and Wilmington demands excessive fines in order to…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Sun Valley Administrative Appeal
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…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Gray v. Maine Dept. of Public Safety
Joshua Gray, a private investigator, wanted to expand his business into his home state of Maine. In violation of his First Amendment rights, the state denied his request for a license, because he has criticized…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Nevada Civil Forfeiture
Marine veteran Stephen Lara was left on the side of the highway in Nevada without any money, after police took his life savings without ever charging him with any wrongdoing. Stephen has teamed up with…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Texas Forfeiture II
Harris County, Texas, has an unconstitutional financial incentive for law enforcement to seize property and cash excessively without probable cause, often sweeping up innocent people in the process. Ameal Woods and Jordan Davis are two…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Kermit Warren Forfeiture
DEA agents took Kermit Warren’s life savings from him when he was traveling to purchase a new truck for his tow truck business. They never charged Kermit with a crime. With IJ’s help, Kermit was…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Byrd v. Lamb
When police violate the rights of Americans, as they did to Kevin Byrd and Hamdi Mahmoud, they should be held accountable. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to take both of these cases and ensure…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Forfeiture Defense Appeal
The state of Indiana is attempting to make Terry Abbott win back his seized money in court without a lawyer. However, IJ has stepped in to defend Terry on appeal and is urging the court…