After winning his First Amendment right to challenge the timing of yellow lights in court, now Mats Jarlstrom—along with a team of others—has also convinced the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) to reevaluate its guidelines for the timing of traffic signals. In 2017, the Institute for Justice (IJ) partnered with Mats to file a lawsuit…

Charlestown, Ind.—The homeowners in Charlestown’s Pleasant Ridge neighborhood will see Charlestown Mayor Robert Hall and his staff in court on November 12, 2019 for the start of a five-day trial on the homeowners’ claims that the city violated their constitutional rights. Yesterday, Judge Jason M. Mount of Scott County, sitting by special designation in Clark…

CHICAGO—Six South Side entrepreneurs took the stage last night with three crowned winners and all the contestants gaining valuable experience in promoting their unique business ideas. For six years running, the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship (IJ Clinic) has hosted South Side Pitch. Dinobi Detergent, which makes an all natural detergent, took first place…

Yesterday, Judge Staci M. Yandle of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois issued temporary restraining orders protecting two Granite City families from eviction under the city’s compulsory-eviction law. Represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), the two families had filed civil-rights lawsuits against the city, the first in August and the…

Arlington, Va.—“If the government forces you to install a GPS device and can track your whereabouts, that is a search. But the Illinois Supreme Court ruled otherwise. That is why we are appealing this case to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Robert Frommer, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice (IJ). IJ recently filed…

After living in her one-bedroom, one-bathroom house for nearly 40 years, Richland, Wash. resident Linda Cameron decided it was time for a renovation. Between visits from her friends and family, her modest home was proving to be too cramped, so she worked with a local builder to draw up plans to add a second bedroom…

Arlington, Virginia—More than 30 amicus (or “friend-of-the-court”) briefs have been filed in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue calling for greater educational choice for parents and their children.  Espinoza, which is being litigated by the Institute for Justice (IJ), is expected to set a landmark precedent when it comes to education reform and will decide…

Arlington, Virginia—Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court returns for another term and among the cases it will hear is Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case expected to set a landmark precedent when it comes to education reform. Espinoza, which is being litigated by the Institute for Justice (IJ), will decide whether states may…

Today, Nashville’s Chancery Court of Davidson County upheld Nashville’s client prohibition for home-based businesses, preventing music producer Lij Shaw from recording musicians at his in-home studio and hair stylist Pat Raynor from cutting the hair of her long-time clients in a state-approved single-chair salon she built in her house. The lawsuit against Nashville’s home business…

CHICAGO—Two more Chicago area residents joined a lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice (IJ) seeking to end Chicago’s unconstitutional impound scheme. Each year, Chicago impounds tens of thousands of cars, imposing harsh penalties and rapidly accruing towing and storage fees on their owners. The system traps even innocent owners in its bureaucratic maze. Since…

CHICAGO—This morning, after a hearing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the city of Zion, Ill. agreed to cease all inspections, fines and notices against landlord Josefina Lozano or any of her tenants. Facing ruinous fines for refusing warrantless inspections, Josefina and three of her tenants—Della Sims, Dorice Pierce and Robert Pierce—teamed up with the…

Zion, Ill.—Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, there is only one option for the government when it wants to search a home without the occupant’s consent: get a warrant. In Zion, Illinois, however, the government operates by a different set of rules. Zion’s rental inspection ordinance gives it license to fine landlords up…

CHICAGO— The Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship (IJ Clinic) is proud to announce the finalists who will pitch their innovative businesses to a crowd of 250 at South Side Pitch 2019 on Thursday, October 10. The IJ Clinic started hosting South Side Pitch in 2014 to shine a light on the entrepreneurial energy of Chicago’s South Side. This year, the competition received more than 100 applications. The six finalists below will compete for a shot at $11,000 in cash prizes and a year of membership to the Polsky Exchange in Hyde Park.

Lancaster, Pa.—In a newly released decision, Lancaster County Judge Leonard Brown determined that forfeiture records being sought by reporter Carter Walker and the media group LNP are subject to a Pennsylvania Right to Know Law request. However, the judge also ruled that the newspaper’s current request was not detailed enough to order the Lancaster District…

Arlington, Va.—The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, announced that it will hear arguments in a challenge to Baltimore’s restrictive and confusing food truck rules. In 2016, food truck owners Joey Vanoni and Nikki McGowan teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to strike down the city’s ban on mobile vendors operating…

A case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court could have wide-ranging ramifications for the millions of Americans whose drivers’ licenses have been suspended because of unpaid fines or fees. That is the warning a group of five national organizations gave to the Supreme Court in a brief urging it to prohibit police officers from stopping…

Jackson, Miss.—Under a new regulation proposed late yesterday by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture in response to a First Amendment lawsuit, vegan and vegetarian food companies would be allowed to continue using meat and meat product terms on their food labels. The new proposed regulation reverses course from the law banning plant-based foods from using…

Hinga Mbogo’s long road to justice came to an abrupt and frustrating end today when the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear his challenge against Dallas’ efforts to force out his beloved auto mechanic shop so that the city can make way for the city’s preferred businesses, such as chain restaurants or coffee shops. “Although…

Louisville, Ky.—Emails brought to light by a public records request from the Institute for Justice (IJ) reveal how Louisville Metro Council member Barbara Sexton-Smith leaned on Metro officials on behalf of a restaurant owner to cripple food trucks. IJ submitted its request back in November 2018, but only received these emails after suing Sexton-Smith and…

Las Vegas, Nev.- Mientras los estudiantes de Nevada regresan a clases esta semana, algunos no irán a las escuelas que sus familias deseaban para ellos. A principios de este año, la Legislatura de Nevada eliminó el aumento anual automático en la cantidad de créditos fiscales disponibles para los donantes de la Beca de la Oportunidad…