ARLINGTON, VA—Atlantic City property owner Charlie Birnbaum, whose longtime family home was targeted for eminent domain abuse, gets to stay put. So ruled the New Jersey Appellate Division in a 29-page published ruling it issued today. The Atlantic City fixture and longtime piano tuner won a landmark victory for property rights today when the court…

At a press conference Wednesday, South Carolina lawmakers announced a bill that would abolish civil forfeiture. Should the bill pass, South Carolina would join just three other states—Nebraska, New Mexico, and North Carolina—that have ended this abusive police practice. Under civil forfeiture laws, the government can permanently confiscate cash, cars, even homes, without ever filing…

The state of Tennessee revokes the driver’s license of any person who fails to pay fines, costs, and litigation taxes associated with a criminal conviction for a year or more. It does this even when the defendant is too poor to pay. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee struck down the…

Late last week, the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed an official comment with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opposing the agency’s suggestion that non-dairy milks should be banned from using the word “milk” on their labels. “If a consumer is confused about the source of a product labeled ‘almond milk,’ then he has bigger…

Arlington, Va. — Yesterday, federal magistrate judge Roderick C. Young recommended denying the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s (SCHEV’s) motion to dismiss Jon and Tracy McGlothian’s First Amendment challenge to Virginia’s prohibition on their teaching job skills without the agency’s permission, allowing their lawsuit to proceed. “Jon and Tracy should not have to…

Charleston, S.C.—Yesterday, attorneys for the City of Charleston appealed an August 2018 federal court ruling that struck down the city’s tour guide license. The licensing law was challenged by three would-be tour guides—Kimberly Billups, Michael Warfield and Michael Nolan—who joined with the Institute for Justice (IJ) in January of 2016 to file a lawsuit alleging…

Among the Themes: States may not discriminate against newcomers. The U.S. Constitution has many provisions designed to prevent anticompetitive efforts like Tennessee’s. Bottleneckers—like the Retailers Association—are self-serving institutions that use the government’s power to keep their prices high, thereby hurting consumers and would-be entrepreneurs alike. Arlington, Va.—On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court…

This press release and the lawsuit it announces are subject to a gag order imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prohibiting us from telling you the story of ████████, an American entrepreneur who, as he tells it, was the victim of an overzealous government investigation. Although the SEC agreed to settle his case…

Arlington, Va.—In a decision with nationwide implications, the New Jersey Appellate Division yesterday (January 7, 2019) rejected the Borough of Glassboro’s attempt to condemn private property in service of an unspecified and undescribed “redevelopment plan,” holding that government officials cannot use their power to take property simply to engage in what the court called “land…

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a sweeping overhaul of Ohio’s occupational licensing laws on Friday, which govern nearly one-fifth of the state’s workforce. By limiting the ability of otherwise qualified people to work in a given field, licensing laws limit competition and drive up prices for consumers. One study published by the Institute for Justice…

Tallahassee, Fla.—In a decision issued today, the Florida Supreme Court ended a years-long lawsuit that included a challenge to the constitutionality of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship and the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. The Institute for Justice (IJ) defended the programs on behalf of parents of scholarships students. “Today, after years…

Today, Florida food truck owners are one step closer to vindicating their right to economic liberty after a judge denied the city of Fort Pierce’s motion to dismiss a challenge to its law requiring that food trucks be over 500 feet from any restaurant to legally operate. This ruling by Judge Lawrence Mirman of the…

Arlington, Va.—On December 28, 2018, Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon entered a judgment largely ruling for Mats Järlström in his First Amendment lawsuit against Oregon’s engineering board. Mats sued the board in 2017, asserting that Oregon’s engineering-licensing law violated his First Amendment rights by banning him…

Arlington, Va.— Thursday afternoon, Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., of the District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, dismissed a lawsuit brought by Vizaline, LLP, a digital geospatial and visualization technology startup, that sought to strike down a Mississippi surveyor licensing law that the state board of surveyors is unconstitutionally trying to use to shut…

Today the city of Indio, California, has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought by the Institute for Justice (IJ) on behalf of Ramona Morales and other Riverside County residents forced to pay outrageously high attorney’s fees to a law firm called Silver & Wright. The city had hired the firm to enforce its…

Arlington, Va.—Doug and Mary Ketchum moved to Memphis in 2016 with the dream of buying a business that would give them more time with their 32-year-old daughter, Stacie, who has been severely handicapped since an early age, and who doesn’t have many years left to live, according to their doctor. But, thanks to the actions…

Helena, Mont.—Today, by a 5 to 2 vote, the Montana State Supreme Court reversed a lower court to declare that the state’s scholarship tax credit program is unconstitutional. This marks the first time that a state supreme court has struck down such a program. The program provides scholarships to needy families to attend the private…

PHILADELPHIA—Two Pennsylvania women denied licenses by the Pennsylvania Cosmetology Board are suing in the Commonwealth Court to end an unconstitutional requirement that stands in the way of careers in cosmetology. Courtney Haveman and Amanda Spillane, who live near Philadelphia, struggled with substance abuse, but have been sober and stayed out of trouble for years. The…

Today, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York improperly dismissed a class-action lawsuit challenging New York City’s extraction of unconstitutional settlement agreements. Through its no-fault eviction program, the NYPD threatened to evict businesses and residents when somebody—even a total stranger—committed a crime at…

Charleston, S.C.—Judge David Norton of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina today affirmed his August 2018 decision protecting the First Amendment rights of Charleston tour guides. The city’s tour guide licensing law was challenged by three would-be tour guides—Kimberly Billups, Michael Warfield and Michael Nolan—who joined with the Institute for Justice…