Arif Panju

Managing Attorney of the Texas Office

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Arif Panju is a managing attorney with the Institute for Justice and leads IJ’s Texas office. He litigates constitutional cases at all levels of state and federal court to defend the rights of everyday people against abuses of government power — including hairbraiders, parents, tour guides, food truckers, eyebrow threaders, and small business owners.

His docket spans IJ’s core practice areas, and he has secured court victories in each, including in state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Arif’s First Amendment work includes Billups v. City of Charleston, a win for occupational speech. His economic liberty cases include a landmark Texas Supreme Court victory in Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, strengthening the test for judging the constitutionality of economic restrictions, and Brantley v. Kuntz in federal court, which freed hairbraiding schools from restrictions so onerous that the Texas Legislature scrapped the licensing law altogether. On property rights, Arif has fought against eminent domain, zoning, and civil forfeiture abuses, including the appellate reversal of a jury verdict in Woods v. State of Texas, saving a couple’s life savings seized during a traffic stop. In educational choice, Arif was counsel for the petitioners in Carson v. Makin, a U.S. Supreme Court victory holding that excluding religious schools from choice programs violates the Free Exercise Clause. He has also litigated the defense of educational choice in Tennessee, Alabama, and Utah.

Arif’s current cases challenge occupational licensing laws, government monopolies, civil forfeiture, zoning abuses, defending educational choice programs, and Jouppi v. Alaska, a U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause.

Outside the courtroom, Arif’s work on legislation and grassroots coalitions helped to enact Texas’s educational choice program and anti-SLAPP statute, supported homeowners facing eminent domain, and pressed reforms of civil forfeiture and occupational licensing laws.

Arif’s work has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, and the Texas Tribune, and his own commentary has run in the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, and USA Today.

Arif graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University’s law school and has clerked on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a board member and past president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Arif lives in Austin with his family.

Arif's Cases

Economic Liberty

Texas Entrepreneur Fights a City’s Unconstitutional Dumpster Monopoly

The Texas Constitution forbids monopolies. So, a Waxahachie dumpster rental company is suing after the city granted a monopoly to a single national waste company.

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom

Institute for Justice Partners with Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods to Sue Texas to End Ban on Sale of Cultivated Meat

Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods challenge Texas's ban on cultivated meat. Texas’ ban is about one thing: protecting in-state agricultural interest from innovative, out-of-state competition.

Fines and Fees | Rule of Law

Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer

The Case April 3rd, 2012, began like any other day for Ken Jouppi, a longtime bush pilot in Alaska. He was scheduled to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks…

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Utah Families Defend Program That Expands Educational Opportunity

Utah families intervene to defend the Utah Fits All scholarship program, so that families have more choice with their children's' educational opportunities.

Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project

Mechanic Challenges City of Pasadena's Mandatory Parking Minimum

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 challenge is unconstitutional parking minimum.

4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

Class Action Lawsuit Seeks to Dismantle Houston’s Illegal and Unconstitutional Forfeiture Machine

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 victims of this system who have joined forces with IJ to challenge this corrupt system.

Economic Liberty | Eminent Domain | Private Property

Family-Owned Hardware Store Sues Long Island Town Trying to Take Away their Property

The Brinkmann family owns hardware stores in Long Island and purchased property with the hope of opening a new store. The town now wants to take the land through eminent domain, simply because they don’t want another store. With the help of IJ, the Brinkmanns are fighting back against this unconstitutional tactic.

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Tennessee Parents Intervene in Court to Defend Education Savings Account Program

In 2019, Tennessee enacted an Education Savings Account that helped thousands of low-and-middle-income students receive a quality education. A year later, the mayor of Nashville announced a lawsuit attacking the program. A group of Tennessee families have teamed up with IJ to save the program.

Economic Liberty | Vending

Texas Food Trucks Sue for Right to Compete on South Padre Island

South Padre Island caps the number of food trucks in town at 12 and requires that all food trucks have a restaurant owner’s sign off on their permit applications. The Texas Constitution prevents the government from picking winners and losers, which is why food truck operators have partnered with IJ to challenge the regulation.

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Maine Families Fight for School Choice in U.S. Supreme Court Appeal

The Case Victory! In a landmark 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held that school choice programs must be neutral regarding…

Economic Liberty | Vending

Derby City Betting Against Food Trucks

City Council members in Louisville worked closely with established brick-and-mortar restaurants to keep out food truck competition. IJ secured a federal court order barring the city from discriminating against food trucks and then successfully worked to prevent a city council member from undermining the order.

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides

Charleston Tour Guides Challenge Unconstitutional License to Talk

Economic Liberty | Vending

No One Should Need Their Competitors’ Permission to Operate a Business

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property

Beer Bounty: Texas Craft Brewers Sue Over New Law That Requires Them to Give Part of Their Businesses to Distributors for Free

A Texas law is forcing craft brewers to give up millions of dollars of valuable property to politically connected beer distributors.

Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships

Alabama Parents Join Legal Battle To Protect School Choice

Alabama has created a unique, refundable tax credit program that offers a lifeline to families to help them escape failing public schools if they lack the financial resources to do so.

Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing

Should African hair braiders have to build an entire barber college and become barbering instructors just to teach hair braiding? Texas officials think so.

Texas tried to force natural hair braiding schools to convert into fully-equipped barber colleges—solely to teach hair braiding—even though braiders aren’t barbers.

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening

Alabama Smiles: Entrepreneurs Fight Back Against Teeth-Whitening Monopolies

Alabama’s prohibition on non-dentist teeth whitening has nothing to do with protecting consumers and everything to do with protecting monopoly profits for dentists.

Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships

Louisiana Federation of Teachers, et al v State of Louisiana, et al

Economic Liberty | Vending

El Paso Mobile Food Vendors Challenge City’s Effort to Run Them Out of Town

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

Hanging by a Thread: Texas Eyebrow Threaders Fight Irrational Licensing

Eyebrow threading is a booming industry in Texas. But state bureaucrats are making it difficult for individuals to continue practicing this ancient art.