Gretchen Embrey serves as IJ’s Director of Paralegal Services & Senior Paralegal. She joined IJ in January 1996. Her responsibilities include management of IJ’s paralegals, along with preparing and filing legal documents in courts across the country. Gretchen received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Legal Studies in 1995 from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.
Gretchen's Cases
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Group of immigrant nurses ask Supreme Court to hear case against prosecutor who brought bogus claims against them
A group of immigrant nurses whom rogue prosecutors tried to subject to indentured servitude, and their attorney who was criminally charged for providing legal advice, are asking the United States Supreme Court to hear their…
Immunity and Accountability
Man fights to uphold court ruling that judges aren't above the law
The Institute for Justice (IJ) teamed up with a West Virginia man whose rights were violated by a Raleigh County family court judge. IJ and Matthew Gibson are urging the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of…
Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property | Right to Shelter
Akron Homeless Advocate Sues for Right to Shelter the Homeless
Sage Lewis is using his commercial property to build a community for those experiencing homelessness, with the hope of helping them transition from the streets to permanent housing. The city of Akron is attempting to…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Maine Families Fight for School Choice in U.S. Supreme Court Appeal
Video Interview with Attorney and Parent Supreme Court Decision School Choice Myths & Realities…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Illegal Math? A state board in Oregon is punishing people for talking about traffic lights and any other “engineering” topics
Mats Järlström is an engineer, and he used those skills to criticize the formula used on red lights, suggesting the yellow lights should last a little longer. He was hit with a $500 fine from…
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Enforcing Landmark Civil Forfeiture Reforms To Shut Down An Unconstitutional Forfeiture Machine
Educational Choice | Tax Credit Scholarships
Montana Moms Seek to Restore School Choice Program that was Struck Down for Including Religious Options
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided one of the most important education reform cases in the past half-century. This landmark case held that the U.S. Constitution does not allow states to discriminate…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
IJ to IRS: Give Back This Money
The message from the Institute for Justice, which represents Ken and Randy, to the IRS is simple: If you’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you, give it back.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Government Unreformed: IRS Seizes $107,000 From Innocent Small Business, Despite Recent Policy Changes Meant To Prevent Exactly This Kind Of Case
Lyndon McLellan has spent more than a decade running L&M Convenience Mart, a gas station, restaurant, and convenience store in rural Fairmont, North Carolina. Then, one year ago, without any warning, agents from the IRS…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
Government Cannot Decide Who Is, Or Is Not, Allowed To Tell A Story
Tour guides are storytellers, and the government can’t be in the business of deciding who is (or who is not) allowed to tell stories.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Fighting the Philadelphia Forfeiture Machine: Philadelphia Deprives People of Their Rights While Trying to Forfeit and Profit from Their Property
Police and prosecutors use civil forfeiture to strip thousands of Americans of their rights and property. Nowhere is the problem more rampant than in Philadelphia.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening
Teeth-Whitening Entrepreneur Challenges Dentists’ Monopoly in Georgia
In Georgia, entrepreneurs who offer teeth-whitening services can be charged with a felony, imprisoned for up to five years and fined thousands of dollars. Their crime? Selling the exact same teeth-whitening product sold in stores.
Economic Liberty | Health
CON Job: How A Virginia Law Enriches Established Businesses by Limiting Your Medical Options, and How IJ Is Going to Stop It.
Virginia’s certificate of need program actually makes it illegal to offer new medical services or purchase certain types of medical equipment without first obtaining a special permission slip from the government.
First Amendment
Arizona Citizen Files First Amendment Lawsuit Challenging Speech Regulations
Arizona wants to bar people from joining together to protest local ballot measures without first registering with the government.
Economic Liberty | Vending
Atlanta Strikes: Out Challenging Atlanta, Georgia’s Unconstitutional Vending Monopoly
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
IJ Successfully Defended Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Drive to Freedom: Nashville’s Sedan Drivers Fight City Effort To Run Them Off the Road
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Sign Codes
IJ Fights to Unleash Free Speech: Challenging Arlington, Virginia’s Unconstitutional Sign Ordinance
First Amendment | Political Speech
Protecting Citizen Speech: Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality Of Florida Campaign Finance Regulations Kicks Off Nationwide Campaign
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
License to Describe: Challenging Washington D.C.’s Tour-Guide Licensing Scheme
The First Amendment protects everyone who talks for a living, whether they’re journalists, professors or tour guides.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Free the Monks and Free Enterprise: Challenging Louisiana’s Casket Cartel
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing
Free to Design: Challenging Florida’s Unconstitutional Interior Design Law
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
Grassroots Tyranny in the Cradle of the Constitution: Philadelphia Tour Guides Stand Up For the Framers’ Vision of Freedom
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Challenging Barriers To Economic Opportunity: Freeing Maryland Entrepreneurs From the Chiropractic and Veterinary Cartels
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Supreme Court refused to hear case about eminent domain abuse in New York
Gretchen's News, Articles & Publications
Liberty & Law Article