January 20, 2022
Will the Supreme Court Limit Police Power to “Stop and Frisk”?
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Why so-called Terry stops are a threat to essential Fourth Amendment rights
Read MoreJanuary 13, 2022
These Inspectors Think “Open for Business” Means “No Warrant Required”
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In Ohio, wildlife inspectors think that the law gives them permission to come into private businesses without permission—no probable cause or warrant required
Read MoreJanuary 05, 2022
When Can Your Past Bar You From a Job—And When Should It?
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In Virginia, any one of 176 so-called barrier crimes can disqualify a person from work in certain occupations for life—no matter how old the conviction, how unrelated it is to the work the person desires to do, or how little it reflects the person’s fitness today. These laws kept IJ client Rudy Carey from fulfilling work as a substance abuse counselor for people he is uniquely fit to help. In today’s show, we talk about what happened to Rudy and how he is fighting against collateral consequences laws that are irrational and unjust.
Read MoreOctober 21, 2021
Grand Theft Auto in Wilmington, Delaware
How One City Cashes in on a Towing and Impound Racket
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In Wilmington, Delaware, any car with more than $200 in outstanding fines can be towed by private towing companies. Vehicle owners have no way to […]
Read MoreSeptember 28, 2021
IJ at 30: IJ President Scott Bullock on the Cases and Clients that Changed IJ and the Law (A Deep Dive Best Of)
IJ President Scott Bullock on the Cases and Clients that Changed IJ and the Law (A Deep Dive Best Of)
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Before he was IJ’s president, Scott Bullock spent 25 years as an IJ attorney. In this episode, he recounts his years in the trenches as […]
Read MoreAugust 26, 2021
Will the Supreme Court overturn its infamous decision letting developers take your property?
From pipelines to private development, the high court is indicating an interest in doing a better job for property owners
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Though Susette Kelo’s fight to save her home from her city’s efforts to take it for a private developer ended in 2005, the fight against […]
Read MoreAugust 09, 2021
These People Lost $85 Million in an L.A. Heist…and the Robber was the FBI
How an illegal search and seizure turned into a federal cash grab
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In March 2021, FBI agents broke into private safe deposit boxes at the Southern California business U.S. Private Vaults and—though no individual box owner was […]
Read MoreJune 29, 2021
Cities Caught Extracting Millions From Residents Through Fines and Fees Traps
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In Episode 30 of Deep Dive, we talked about how fines for harmless property code violations could snowball into six-figure debt. All too often, municipalities […]
Read MoreJune 21, 2021
Supreme Court Shuts Down Police on Entering Your Home Without a Warrant
The government argued that if police aren’t investigating a crime, they should be able to access your property
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This term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Caniglia v. Strom, a case about the “community caretaking” exception to the general principle […]
Read MoreMay 24, 2021
This Florida Woman Got a $100,000 Fine for Parking in Her Own Driveway
How Trivial Code Violations Can Lead to Financial Ruin—And How to Fight Back
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After Sandy Martinez got a ticket from Lantana, Florida, for parking her car with its wheels slightly outside her driveway and on the grass in […]
Read MoreMay 06, 2021
These Laws Let Your Competitors Decide When Your Business is “Needed”
What are “Certificates of Need,” and who should get to decide whether an entrepreneur can try out a business idea?
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When IJ client Abdallah Batayneh tried to open a resort shuttle service in rural Colorado, his application was denied by a state regulatory agency at […]
Read MoreApril 30, 2021
Law for Non-Lawyers - Standards of Review (A Deep Dive Best of)
Why do property, economic, and other vital liberties get only “rational basis” review?
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What does it mean when courts apply “strict scrutiny” in their review of a law? Why do property, economic, and other vital liberties get only […]
Read MoreApril 13, 2021
Bitcoin and the Constitution: Is Code Speech?
And Can the 4th Amendment Keep the Government Out of Your Crypto?
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Although Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are hitting the mainstream, the way the law will treat them is still undeveloped. In this episode, we talk about […]
Read MoreMarch 29, 2021
“Predictive Policing” Algorithm Creates a Dystopian Nightmare for Residents of This Florida Town
How One Sheriff’s Office Harasses and Arrests Citizens It Suspects of Future Crimes
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When the Institute for Justice filed suit against the so-called predictive policing program in Pasco County, Florida, the Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying that […]
Read MoreMarch 11, 2021
Talking to a Client in the Wrong Location Makes This Counselor a Criminal
Restrictions on teletherapy hurt people and violate the First Amendment
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Elizabeth Brokamp is a professional counselor who just wants to help people at a time when many Americans need it more than ever. But if […]
Read MoreFebruary 24, 2021
Uses (and Misuses) of Amicus Briefs | (A Deep Dive Best Of)
The Whys, Whens, and Hows of Being a Friend of the Court
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IJ Senior Attorneys Robert McNamara and Paul Sherman discuss amicus briefs: what they are, where they came from, and how IJ—and others—use them for maximum […]
Read MoreFebruary 08, 2021
Censorship, Dangerous Speech, and Monopolies
Why a modern day Fairness Doctrine isn’t the solution, what Section 230 really does, and what the current debate has to do with free speech, property rights, and even shopping malls in the 1980s
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Big technology companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook have come under scrutiny for the ways they are—and are not—controlling speech on their platforms. In today’s […]
Read MoreJanuary 29, 2021
Security Guards Assault Innocent Vet at the VA—and Claim Immunity
An outrageous decision from the 5th Circuit threatens his rights—and those of everyone in three states
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What should have been a routine dental appointment at his local VA took a frightening turn for 70-year-old Jose Oliva when security guards tackled him […]
Read MoreJanuary 12, 2021
This Is What Happens When States Abolish Civil Forfeiture
Research shows that policing for profit is a big problem—but it’s one that states can fix
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In 2015, New Mexico abolished a controversial practice known as civil forfeiture. Critics of the reform claimed it would be a gift to criminals, increasing […]
Read MoreJanuary 04, 2021
Qualified Immunity: Are Government Officials Above the Law? (A Deep Dive Best Of)
How Government Officials Can Blow Up Your House with Grenades—and Get Away With It by Claiming Immunity
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Over the past several months, a national spotlight has been on the doctrine of qualified immunity. Although much of the recent focus has been on […]
Read MoreDecember 28, 2020
Property Rights and Homeless Shelters—What Has the Supreme Court Said?
How one local government board is trying to stop people from helping the homeless—and what the law says about whether they can
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The Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter is the only option for people experiencing temporary homelessness in all of Wilkes County, North Carolina. It’s been […]
Read MoreDecember 22, 2020
When Can the Government Lock You in Your House? (A Deep Dive Best Of)
Revisiting “Quarantines and the Constitution”
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With new lockdowns happening all over the country and internationally, we want to revisit the government’s use of police power. Just what does your state […]
Read MoreDecember 07, 2020
City Officials Threw an Elderly Woman in Jail for Criticizing Them—Then Claimed Immunity
How one Texas town retaliated against a citizen for trying to improve her community
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Special investigators, trumped up charges, and a night in jail. What happened to Sylvia Gonzalez is truly outrageous—and the local government’s reaction to her efforts […]
Read MoreNovember 13, 2020
Can the Government Require Warning Labels for Veggie Burgers?
Why the First Amendment should protect the way companies talk about their products
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In 2020, debates about veggie burgers and almond milk may sound like small potatoes. But controversies about how the government can regulate the way that […]
Read MoreOctober 16, 2020
Law for Non-Lawyers: Precedent
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Most people think they know what “precedent” means in the law, but the concept is actually more complicated than most realize! Precedent is ancient, but […]
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2020
California Says These Firefighters Can’t Work—and the Reason Makes No Sense
How a so-called collateral consequence law means California keeps experienced firefighters from earning a living fighting fires
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Wildfires are raging across the West, and California is grappling with a record-breaking season. Why, then, does the state tell qualified firefighters that they can’t […]
Read MoreSeptember 08, 2020
How Federal Agents Can Legally Take Your Money at the Airport
The simple trick the feds use to take hundreds of millions of dollars from travelers
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Law enforcement agencies routinely seize currency from travelers at airports using civil forfeiture—a legal process that allows agencies to take and keep property without ever […]
Read MoreAugust 20, 2020
Did the Supreme Court Just Say States Have to Fund Religion?
Unpacking the Court’s Espinoza ruling
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When it handed down Espinoza v. MT Dept. of Revenue this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court added one more facet to a year that has […]
Read MoreAugust 13, 2020
It’s Time to Fund Students, Not Systems
Why the future of education is student-centered
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With an increasing number of parents desperately seeking educational alternatives for the upcoming school year, teachers’ unions and school districts are doubling down on the […]
Read MoreAugust 06, 2020
Can the Government Put Cameras on Your Property Without a Warrant?
Why the 4th Amendment Doesn’t Protect You Like You Think It Does
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Decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court created the so-called Open Fields Doctrine. The result was an exception to 4th Amendment restrictions on the government’s ability […]
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