Mike Greenberg is an attorney at the Institute for Justice. He litigates cases to promote individuals’ rights to private property, economic liberty, and free speech in state and federal courts. Mike joined IJ as a Law & Liberty Fellow in 2020 and previously served as a Dave Kennedy Fellow in IJ’s Florida office.
Since joining IJ, Mike has launched cases aiming to curtail civil forfeiture abuse and ensure that people are not held back from earning an honest living because of old and irrelevant criminal records.
Mike earned his law degree from the UCLA School of Law, where he was President of the Federalist Society and a member of the Moot Court Honors Team. He also earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Florida.
Mike's Cases
Fines and Fees | Private Property
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether the government’s fining a retiree out of his life’s savings for a paperwork violation is an “excessive fine.”
Eighty-eight-year-old retiree Tuncay Saydam is at risk of losing his life’s savings. Not because of a bad investment or a fraudulent scheme. Rather, the federal government is trying to fine Tuncay over $437,000—because he…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation
Arizona Educator Sues County Attorney Whose Hired Thugs Bullied Him Out of Election Campaign
Fernie Madrid ran for school superintendent in Apache, but he was running against the wife of the County Attorney, Michael Whiting. Whiting used his employees to retaliate against Fernie and bully him out of the…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Alaska Pilot Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stop State from Taking His $95,000 Airplane for Passenger’s Beer
April 3, 2012, began like any other day for Ken Jouppi, a longtime bush pilot in Alaska. He was scheduled to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks April 3rd, 2012, began like…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Zoning Justice Project
Santa Clara Winery Sues to End Unconstitutional Zoning Code Fines
Owners of a historic vineyard and winery provided safe, affordable housing for their long-time employee and his family. For that, they have been fined more than $120,000.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Virginia Woman Challenges Permanent Punishment Preventing Her from Working as a Substance Abuse Counselor
Virginia bars people with old criminal records from becoming substance abuse counselors, even when they've turned their lives around.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Sparta, GA, Property Owners Team Up to Fight Back Against Private Railroad’s Attempt to Take Their Property
A group of property owners in Sparta, Georgia has teamed up to fight back against a private railroad's attempt to take their land.
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
Michigan Homeowners Fight to Vindicate Fourth Amendment Protections Against Warrantless Surveillance Using Drones
Todd and Heather Maxon live on a five-acre property in rural Long Lake Township, in northern Michigan. Todd spends his free time fixing up and tinkering with cars and other vehicles. He keeps those…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Entrepreneur Fined $1,000 for Using Public Information to Draw Lines on Maps Files Federal Lawsuit Against California
Do you need a government license to trace a map from publicly available data? It might sound ridiculous, but in California the answer is “yes.” An entrepreneur joined with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Class Action Lawsuit Aims to End For-Profit Prosecutions in Indiana
In Indiana, prosecutors profit off the civil forfeiture cases they prosecute, creating perverse incentives that strips Hoosiers of their basic due process rights. A federal class action lawsuit from IJ seeks to end for-profit prosecutions…
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start | Occupational Licensing
Aspiring Addiction Counselor Sues to End Virginia’s Past-Conviction Discrimination
Rudy Carey wants to help people overcome addiction through counseling, but Virginia has decided he cannot do so because he has a prior criminal conviction. The Constitution protects Rudy’s right to earn an honest living,…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Security Deposit Box Owners Demand FBI Return Property Seized Without a Warrant
FBI agents broke into hundreds of private security deposit box without warrants. Holding government officials accountable for violating Fourth Amendment rights is crucial to ensure similar abuses don’t occur in the future.
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Homeowner Facing $100,000 Parking Violation Sues Florida Town for “Excessive Fines”
Sandy Martinez received more than $100,000 in fines for how she parked on her own driveway. This excessive fine not only threatens to financially cripple Sandy, it’s also unconstitutional and is the reason she has…
Mike's Amicus Briefs
The People of the State of Michigan v. Armstrong
Michigan Supreme Court
State of Indiana v.Daniel Cespedes-Gomez
Lake County, Indiana, Superior Court
Long Lake Township v. Maxon
Michigan Supreme Court
City of Seattle v. Long
Washington Supreme Court
Nicole K. v. Stigdon
United States Supreme Court
Mike's News, Articles & Publications
Mike's Podcasts
April 03, 2026
Short Circuit 422 | My Name is Pastor Jennings
When the police ask you for an I.D., when do you have to hand it over? That depends on a lot of facts and a […]
Listen NowSeptember 05, 2025
Short Circuit 392 | The NFL Commissioner Decides
Arbitration may not sound like the most exciting subject, but it recently made for an exciting story at the Second Circuit. Former Miami Dolphins coach […]
Listen Now