Joe Gay is an attorney at the Institute for Justice.
Prior to joining IJ, Joe was at a national law firm, where he litigated cases at the trial court and appellate levels. Before that, he was a Constitutional Law Fellow at IJ and then clerked at 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
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Minnesota ADU
A couple sought to build an accessory dwelling unit to rent at below-market rates to a family in need, but Blaine, Minnesota, unlawfully denied their permit.
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Arkansas School Choice
Arkansas parents defend a state program that provides eligible families with thousands of dollars to cover certain educational expenses.
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
Virginia game wardens entered a family's property, seized their camera, and searched it—all without consent or a warrant.
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
MAID v. Montana
Montana Supreme Court
Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification, LLC (MAID) v. State of Montana
Montana Supreme Court
Joe's News, Articles & Publications
Joe's Hearings
Joe's Podcasts
May 01, 2026
Short Circuit 426 | Vaccinated Home Distilling
John Wrench of IJ details the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that the federal ban on home distilling is unconstitutional. At least as the case was argued, […]
Listen NowSeptember 19, 2025
Short Circuit 394 | Speech Over Licensing
It’s a free speech episode with two rulings for the First Amendment. Paul Sherman of IJ details a victory that the Institute for Justice litigated […]
Listen Now