Josh Windham is an attorney at the Institute for Justice and IJ’s current Elfie Gallun Fellow in Freedom and the Constitution.
Josh joined IJ’s headquarters office in 2016. He received his law degree earlier that year from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he served as president of the Federalist Society and externed for the Honorable Robert Numbers in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Before that, Josh graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History.
Since starting at IJ, Josh has litigated in defense of economic liberty and property rights, with a focus on state constitutions. In 2020, he secured a major Pennsylvania Supreme Court victory holding that the Pennsylvania Constitution demands greater protection for economic liberty than the U.S. Constitution. In 2022, he convinced a state trial court that the Tennessee Constitution offers more protection from warrantless searches of private land than the U.S. Constitution. Josh is also the co-director of IJ’s Project on the Fourth Amendment, which aims to bolster all Americans’ right to be secure in their persons and property.
Joshua's Cases
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
The government can’t steal your cameras and use them to spy on you
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…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Lawsuit seeks to hold law enforcement accountable for violating Texan’s constitutional rights
Alek Schott partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to announce a federal lawsuit against Bexar County deputies for illegally stopping him for a traffic violation that he didn’t commit, and then using the stop…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Landowners sue to stop warrantless searches
For years, wildlife officers in Pennsylvania have been ignoring the privacy rights of hunters under the so-called “open fields doctrine,” which posits that private land doesn’t receive privacy protections. This IJ suit challenges the constitutionality…
4th Amendment Project | Business Inspections | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Small Business Owner Sues to Stop Ohio’s “Whenever, Wherever” 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…
Montana Bans Doctors from Offering Medications to Their Patients Just to Protect Pharmacies from Competition
The vast majority of states allow patients to purchase medications directly from their prescribing doctor. For years, this practice was banned in Montana, until IJ stepped in to challenge the law and lawmakers immediately moved…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Lincoln Home Baker Challenges City’s Unnecessary Regulations
Lincoln, Nebraska imposed restrictions on home bakers that the state itself decided to get rid of. One home baker named Cindy Baker teamed up with IJ to successfully challenge Lincoln’s foolish restriction.
North Carolina Ophthalmologist Challenges Outdated Certificate of Need (“CON”) Law
The government should never prevent doctors from safely providing affordable health care services their patients need. But that’s exactly what North Carolina, along with 34 other states, do every day. Dr. Jay Singleton is working…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
Landowners sue to stop warrantless searches
Tennessee Wildlife officials were caught putting cameras on Terry Rainwaters’ property, ignoring his “No Trespassing” signs. Terry and another rural Tennessee property owner are joining forces with IJ to fight back against the “open fields…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Institute for Justice Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hold Government Officials Accountable For Destroying Idaho Home with Grenades
If you tell police they can go into your home, does that mean they can also legally stand outside and pepper it with shotgun-fired tear gas grenades—destroying everything inside? That is the question asked by…
Texas Bans Doctors from Offering Medication to Their Patients Just to Protect Pharmacies from Competition
In most states, patients can purchase medication directly from the doctor prescribing it. But in Texas, doctors are banned from dispensing unless they practice in certain “rural” areas more than 15 miles from a pharmacy—a…
Indiana Bans Online Eye Tests to Protect Established Businesses from Competition
Indiana bans healthcare providers from conducting online eye tests, to protect established businesses from competition.
North Carolina CONs Patients: Outdated Law Prevents Doctor From Providing Transparently Priced, Low-Cost MRI Scans
In Spring 2020, Dr. Gajendra Singh had to close his imaging center, in part because of the enormous costs imposed by the CON law. As a result, Dr. Singh’s lawsuit could not continue, but shortly…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Vacation Property Manager Challenges Pennsylvania Real Estate Cartel
Sally helps people list their homes for short-term vacation rentals, but one day she received a call from the Pennsylvania Department of State arguing she was engaging in unlicensed real estate. She was told she…
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property | Vending
Sweet Home Chicago?: Food Trucks Get the Cold Shoulder in the Windy City
Chicago shouldn’t be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks.
Joshua's Amicus Briefs
Jackson v. United States
7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Tuggle v. United States
United States Supreme Court