Nick DeBenedetto is a Litigation Fellow at the Institute for Justice. He returns to IJ after working as a Dave Kennedy Fellow in the summer of 2020.
Originally from central New Jersey, Nick earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Rutgers Law School–Camden, and his B.A., cum laude, in Economics from Villanova University. While in law school, he served as the State Constitutional Law Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review and President of the Rutgers–Camden Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Before coming back to IJ, Nick clerked for the Honorable Stephanie A. Mitterhoff of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division. He also worked as a Legal Associate at the Cato Institute, and as a Litigation Fellow at the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Nick is a member of the New Jersey bar.
Nick's Cases
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Sign Codes
Nebraska Barber Shop Free Speech
Institute for Justice joins lawsuit defending family bar threatened with fines and even jail time for using “barber shop” theme to honor owners’ late father When Mike DiGiacomo and his siblings wanted to remodel…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
Maine Backyard Chickens
A family is using Maine's first-in-the-nation Right to Food amendment to challenge a small town ordinance effectively bans backyard chickens.
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…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Nevada Civil Forfeiture
Marine veteran Stephen Lara was left on the side of the highway in Nevada without any money, after police took his life savings without ever charging him with any wrongdoing. Stephen has teamed up with…
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
DEA and TSA Airport Forfeitures
Retired railroad engineer Terry Rolin’s life savings were seized by the government, but he hasn’t been charged with any crime. Now he and his daughter are working with IJ to get his money back and…
Nick's News, Articles & Publications
Nick's Podcasts
June 18, 2026
Rename Your Bar…or go to JAIL
Mike DiGiacomo and his siblings turned the basement of their father’s old barbershop building into a barber-themed speakeasy. But their attempt to honor their father […]
Listen NowFebruary 20, 2026
Short Circuit 416 | Kansas Two-Steps
In Colorado marijuana is legal under state law. In Kansas it is not. This had led Kansan police officers to stop a lot of cars […]
Listen NowJune 13, 2025
Short Circuit 380 | Homicide by Bath
Is making someone file a form “in the public interest”? The Fifth Circuit took a look at that age-old question in a recent case regarding […]
Listen NowJanuary 10, 2025
Short Circuit 358 | Motte-and-Bailey Game
Can state officers simply come on your land and take samples of your dirt (and water) without a warrant? Well, it’s hard to know when […]
Listen Now