Joshua Windham is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. 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 2024, he convinced a state appellate 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 | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Alabama Construction Site Raids
A U.S. citizen, who was wrongly detained twice, is suing to stop unconstitutional raids on private construction sites.
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Open Fields
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.
4th Amendment Project | License Plate Readers | Private Property
Norfolk, VA Camera Surveillance
Norfolk, Virginia has installed more than 170 cameras across the city that watch drivers' every movement. Now, two Norfolk-area residents have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal lawsuit challenging the…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Louisiana Open Fields
Louisiana game wardens have entered Tom Manuel's land uninvited and without a warrant multiple times. He's asking courts to follow the Louisiana Constitution and protect private property from unreasonable searches.
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…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Texas Traffic Stop
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
Pennsylvania Open Fields
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
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…
Montana Doctor Dispensing
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, NE Cottage Foods
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 CON II
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
Tennessee Open Fields
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
West v. Winfield
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 Doctor Dispensing
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 Eyeglasses
Indiana bans healthcare providers from conducting online eye tests, to protect established businesses from competition.
North Carolina CON
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
Pennsylvania Property Management
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 Eyeglasses
Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property | Vending
Chicago Food Trucks
Chicago shouldn’t be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks.
Joshua's Research & Reports
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine
The Open Fields Doctrine Is Wrong
This year marks the centennial of the Fourth Amendment “open fields” doctrine. That doctrine holds that the vast majority of private land in the United States receives zero Fourth Amendment protection—and thus government officials can…
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine
Good Fences? Good Luck
Released in the Cato Institute’s Regulation magazine, IJ’s study “Good Fences? Good Luck” is the first study to put a number on the amount of private property vulnerable to warrantless searches by federal agents thanks to a…
Joshua's Amicus Briefs
Chatrie v. United States
United States Supreme Court
Jackson v. United States
7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Kinsley v. Ace Speedway Racing, LTD
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Tuggle v. United States
United States Supreme Court
Joshua's Legislation
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine
Protecting Real Property From Warrantless Searches Act
A State Solution to the Open Fields Doctrine Under the Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment protects the right to be secure from government’s power to search and seize. Ordinarily, courts enforce that right by requiring a…
4th Amendment Project | Third Party Doctrine
Protection of Shared Physical and Digital Property from Warrantless Searches Act
The Fourth Amendment aims to safeguard privacy and property by restricting the government’s authority to conduct searches and seizures. Typically, officials are required to secure a warrant from a judge before they can examine or take possession…
Joshua's News, Articles & Publications
Joshua's Hearings
North Carolina CON Law Oral Argument
On April 17, 2024 the Institute for Justice (IJ) presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of North Carolina presenting the theory that Dr. Jay Singleton’s constitutional right to economic liberty had been violated. Under current law the state requires a certificate of need (CON) to perform surgeries at his… Read More
Joshua's Letters & Statements
Greers Ferry License Plate Reader Letter
Greers Ferry, Arkansas
Joshua's Podcasts
February 03, 2026
Unpublished Opinions 22 | The Lorax Doctrine
John Wrench welcomes Josh Windham and Kirby Thomas West for a gameshow episode that proves Schiller’s insight that one becomes fully human through play. A […]
Listen NowNovember 19, 2025
Unpublished Opinions 20 | And Fascism
Your IJ roundtable is back with hot takes and tepid reflection. John Wrench, joined by Sam Gedge and Josh Windham, share tips on how to […]
Listen NowJuly 31, 2025
Unpublished Opinions 17 | Stand By
Lots of hot takes on the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court, and even as varied a subject as the Supreme Court. With sub-categories: whether the […]
Listen NowDecember 08, 2023
Mr. Thornton's Woods | Season 3, Ep. 1
In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment’s protections against warrantless searches do not apply to “open fields.” Which means that government agents […]
Listen NowJune 21, 2021
Supreme Court Shuts Down Police on Entering Your Home Without a Warrant
The government argued that if police aren’t investigating a crime, they should be able to access your property
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Caniglia v. Strom, a case about the “community caretaking” exception to the general principle […]
Listen NowAugust 06, 2020
Can the Government Put Cameras on Your Property Without a Warrant?
Why the 4th Amendment Doesn’t Protect You Like You Think It Does
Decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court created the so-called Open Fields Doctrine. The result was an exception to 4th Amendment restrictions on the government’s ability […]
Listen NowMay 21, 2020
Can the Government Throw You Out of Work? (Not in Some States!)
Revitalizing Legal Protections for the Right to Earn a Living
With more Americans out of work than any time in recorded history, whether or not they will be able to earn a living is top […]
Listen Now