Robert McNamara

Private Property

Devillier Cert Petition

“If you break it, you buy it” is a simple rule that anyone who has shopped at a Pottery Barn probably already knows. It means that if you cause damage to someone else’s property, you…

First Amendment | Occupational Speech

Right to Provide Legal Advice

Robert McNamara Rev. John S. Udo-Okon at Word of Life International Church in the Bronx When wealthy Americans face legal troubles, they have a lot of sources of advice. Legions of lawyers, business consultants,…

First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation

IJ Joins Fight to End Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuit in Wisconsin

National Public Interest Law Firm Joins Fight to End Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuit in Wisconsin. IJ Defends a Community Activist Against a Village Attorney’s Frivolous and Retaliatory Defamation Lawsuit…

Immunity and Accountability

Former Texas Prosecutor Worked as a Law Clerk in His Own Cases, Giving the Government an Unfair Advantage Over Those He Prosecuted

Everybody knows your prosecutor can’t also be your judge. Everyone, that is, except for former Midland County, Texas, prosecutor Ralph Petty, his supervisor, and the county’s entire system of justice. Petty spent 20 years moonlighting…

Immunity and Accountability

A court said the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unwarranted arrests is “hazy.” Now, with IJ’s help, a family is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clear the haze and rein in police’s ability to arrest someone for no reason.

A police officer in Arkansas held two innocent children at gun point when he was supposed to be searching for an adult suspect. IJ is asking the Supreme Court to hear the family’s case and…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech

Joshua Gray criticized the police—so they denied him an occupational license

Joshua Gray, a private investigator, wanted to expand his business into his home state of Maine. In violation of his First Amendment rights, the state denied his request for a license, because he has criticized…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech

North Carolina Board Tells Retired Engineer He Can’t Talk About Engineering

Wayne Nutt is a retired engineer who still talks about engineering and wanted to testify as an expert witness in a case that involved engineering issues. The state of North Carolina argued Wayne’s testimony was…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech

First Amendment lawsuit seeks to protect the right to practice talk therapy across state lines

Elizabeth Brokamp uses talk therapy to help people improve their lives. She’s licensed in Virginia, where she lives, near the border with D.C. But D.C. will not let her see clients online who she could…

Immunity and Accountability

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…

Immunity and Accountability

Lech v. City of Greenwood Village

Police destroyed the home of Leo and Alfonsina Lech while pursuing a fugitive and refused to pay for the damage that was caused. While the Supreme Court declined to hear the Lechs’ case, IJ is…

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Institute for Justice Asks U.S. Supreme Court to End Colorado Law Permitting Neighbors to Engage in Eminent Domain Abuse

Imagine if two of your neighbors got together, claimed they established a new town, and then “voted” to take your property from you using eminent domain. Crazy, right? Not in Colorado, where the owners of…

Private Property

Illinois Family Sues to End Law Threatening Them With Compulsory Eviction for a Crime They Did Not Commit

Granite City, Illinois is trying to kick Andy Simpson and Debi Brumit out of their home for a crime they didn’t commit. Andy and Debi are fighting back with IJ to uphold the basic principle…

Economic Liberty | Health

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.

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Pipelines & Eminent Domain: Take Now, Pay (Much) Later

A pipeline company abused eminent domain to take property from the Erbs without paying them for the taking. IJ petitioned the Supreme Court to take the Erbs’ case, but unfortunately the court declined to hear…

First Amendment

Government Gag Orders

Government officials cannot be allowed to use the threat of overwhelming penalties and costly litigation to coerce people into forfeiting their First Amendment rights to speak freely. That is why the Cato Institute has joined…

Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property

Outdated Federal Law Threatens Unique Richmond Publisher

Valancourt Books, in Richmond, Virginia, has partnered with IJ to challenge a federal law that requires book publishers to provide two free copies of every book it publishes or face fines that could total in…

Civil Forfeiture | Private Property

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Unlawfully Seizes Cleveland Family’s Life Savings, Won’t Give It Back

Rustem Kazazi, a retired police officer from Albania, who now leaves in a Cleveland suburb, was flying home to Albania when Customs and Border Patrol stripped him naked and took his family’s money through the…

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing

D.C. Parents and Day Care Providers Sue to Stop Rule Requiring Providers to Earn College Degree to Watch Kids

D.C. recently decided to require day care workers to have a college degree. This is an unreasonable regulation drives up child care costs and deprives day care workers of their ability to earn an honest…

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Jarreau v. South LaFourche Levee District

On behalf of a Louisiana dirt farmer, IJ filed a cert petition to the United States Supreme Court to determine if the government must pay you for losses incurred when it destroys your business through…

Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing

South Carolina Clamps Down On Online Medicine to Protect Profits of Established Businesses

Similar Cases Complaint Latest Release…

Eminent Domain | Private Property

Stopping Kelo From Happening Again

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides

Charleston Tour Guides Challenge Unconstitutional License to Talk

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation

Green Cab’s Story: Twenty-First Century Innovation Shut Out by Twentieth-Century Regulation

It is unconstitutional for the government to use its power to protect itself and other established businesses from competition. That is why Green Cab has partnered with the Institute for Justice (“IJ”) to challenge Bowling…

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides

Government Cannot Decide Who Is, Or Is Not, Allowed To Tell A Story

Tour guides are storytellers, and the government can’t be in the business of deciding who is (or who is not) allowed to tell stories.

Economic Liberty | Eminent Domain | Private Property

Charlie's Home: How the Institute for Justice is helping one man fight To save his family home

An Atlantic City, N.J., man is fighting to save his family home from a state agency’s eminent domain abuse.

Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation

Ridesharing Drivers Fight Back; Join Lawsuit to Challenge Chicago’s Cab Cartels

Armed with little more than their smartphones and cars, a small group of entrepreneurs are driving innovation in an industry that has been dominated by a cartel of cab owners and a regulatory framework originally…

Economic Liberty | Transportation

Hillsborough County Transportation Commission vs. Consumers, a Driver and a Small Business: Government Commission Forces Consumers to Pay More; Prevents Competition and Job Creation

The Public Transportation Commission in Hillsborough County, Fla., forces customers to overpay for limousine services and prevents small business owners from offering better deals to potential customers.

Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech

Putting a New Face on Liberty: Nevada Makeup Artists Fight for Their Right to Teach

The government cannot require teachers to spend hundreds of hours in a classroom to learn skills that have nothing to do with what they teach.

Economic Liberty | Health

CON Job: How A Virginia Law Enriches Established Businesses by Limiting Your Medical Options, and How IJ Is Going to Stop It.

Virginia’s certificate of need program actually makes it illegal to offer new medical services or purchase certain types of medical equipment without first obtaining a special permission slip from the government.

Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides

Challenging New Orleans’ Tour-Guide Licensing Scheme