Robert Frommer

Senior Attorney

Memberships

The District of Columbia Bar

The Virginia Bar

Robert Frommer serves as a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice. He joined the Institute in August 2008 and litigates cases to promote economic liberty, protect free speech, and secure individuals’ rights to private property.

Robert is the head of the Institute for Justice’s National Street Vending Initiative, which fights to remove arbitrary and anti-competitive barriers that keep entrepreneurs from climbing the economic ladder.  As part of that effort, Robert is lead counsel in LMP Services, Inc. v. City of Chicago and Pizza di Joey, LLC v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, two cases that challenge rules that block food trucks from operating within a certain distance of their brick-and-mortar competitors.  Robert is also part of the Institute for Justice’s efforts to end civil forfeiture and is counsel on Sourovelis v. City of Philadelphia and Harjo v. City of Albuquerque, two cases that challenge the pernicious profit incentive underlying those cities’ civil-forfeiture machines.  Robert also litigates in the First Amendment realm, particularly with respect to commercial speech and cities’ attempts to prohibit signs based on what they depict.  Robert’s views have been published in a number of print and on-line newspapers and journals, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun .

Before joining IJ, Robert was an attorney with the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  He is a former law clerk to Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  Robert received his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2004.

Robert's Cases

4th Amendment Project | 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…

Economic Liberty | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property

North Carolina Amortization

Dennis and Peg Schroeder have invested substantial money in their home and chose to rent it out as part of their retirement plan. The city of Wilmington is trying to deprive them of their right…

4th Amendment Project | 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…

Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Sign Codes

Video game store sues to protect its inflatable Mario sign

The town of Orange Park, Florida banned Scott Fisher from putting an inflatable blow-up of the video game character Mario in front of his video game store. IJ and Scott challenged the town’s law that…

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Robert's Research & Reports

Economic Liberty

Opportunity Lost

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says his “administration is committed to creating the conditions and opportunities that will allow this industry [food trucks] to thrive, create jobs and support a vibrant food culture across…

Food-Truck Freedom

Economic Liberty | Vending

Food-Truck Freedom

In order to foster the conditions that will let food trucks thrive, this report offers recommendations based on the legislative best practices of Los Angeles and other cities.

Streets of Dreams

Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Vending

Streets of Dreams

Street vending is, and always has been, a part of the American economy and a fixture of urban life. Thanks to low start-up costs, the trade has offered countless entrepreneurs—particularly immigrants and others with little…

Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs

Economic Liberty

Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs

Rather than pursuing their dreams, too many residents in Washington, D.C., move to more hospitable jurisdictions, take their businesses underground or simply give up.

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Robert's Amicus Briefs

Doe v. Reed

Doe v. Reed

US Supreme Court

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Robert's News, Articles & Publications

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