Joe Gay is an attorney at the Institute for Justice.
Prior to joining IJ, Joe was an associate at national law firm, where he litigated cases at the trial court and appellate levels. Before that, he served as a Constitutional Law Fellow at IJ and then clerked for the Honorable William S. Duffey Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Joe received his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he worked with the Harvard Defenders and served as a teaching assistant in undergraduate intermediate microeconomics. Before that, Joe graduated with a B.S. from the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.
Joe's Cases
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Arkansas School Choice
In 2023, Arkansas’ education reform bill, known as the LEARNS Act, went into effect. The LEARNS Act created the state’s Education Freedom Accounts program, which provides eligible families with thousands of dollars to cover certain…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
US Private Vaults Missing Property
After giving up on using civil forfeiture to claim their safe deposit boxes, the FBI did not return all of Don, Jeni, and Michael's property. They are suing to get their missing coins and cash…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Virginia Open Fields
Josh Highlander’s son is afraid of the boogeyman. While playing with his mother in the yard, their basketball rolled toward the woods. She was shocked to see a figure standing in their woods wearing a…
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
West Virginia School Choice
West Virginia parents intervene to defend one of the nation's best school choice programs to help obtain the education that will best meet the needs of their children.
4th Amendment Project | Business Inspections | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Ohio Warrantless Inspections
A taxidermist was threatened with jail time after he asked a wildlife officer to get a warrant before searching his property. With the help of IJ, he’s fighting back to protect the privacy rights of…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Georgia Tiny Homes
Tiny House Hand Up is a nonprofit that builds affordable tiny homes for people in Calhoun, Georgia. But the city of Calhoun’s unconstitutional ban on building tiny homes has prevented THHU from helping people in…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
North Carolina Engineering Speech
Wayne Nutt is a retired engineer who still talks about engineering and wanted to testify as an expert witness in a case that involved engineering issues. The state of North Carolina argued Wayne’s testimony was…
Joe's Amicus Briefs
Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, LLC (MAID) v. State of Montana
Montana Supreme Court