Rebekah serves as IJ Florida’s Senior Paralegal and Office Manager. After four years working at the Arlington office, Rebekah moved to Florida to open the Miami office in 2011. Her responsibilities include assisting the attorneys with complex legal matters through research, preparation, filing, service, and management of legal documents in state and federal courts IJ litigates in across the country, and all tasks associated with running the Florida office. Rebekah received her Bachelor of Science degree in Law & American Civilization in 2003 from Towson University and her Master of Arts degree in Legal & Ethical Studies from the University of Baltimore in 2005.
Rebekah's Cases
Private Property | Zoning Justice Project
North Port Restrictive Zoning
Art Yatsko is like a lot of Americans in their 60s. After decades of hard work and saving, he wants to slow down—to retire somewhere quiet, peaceful, and warm. He thought North Port, Florida, was…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment
Wisconsin Animal Care
Jim Masterson has been working with animals for almost 30 years. He has developed a signature method of animal care—the Masterson Method—that he has taught to willing students. The method has proven popular and demand…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
Georgia Botched Raid
An ordinary, quiet morning turned into a nightmare for Cathy George. More than a dozen heavily armed law enforcement officers stormed her apartment, looking for a fugitive who had no connection to Cathy and who…
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation
Apache County, AZ Retaliation
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…
Miami Permit Takings
Chad Trausch and his wife’s family was growing, so he decided to expand his Miami home. But when he submitted plans for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom addition, the city came back with a strange request: it…
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…
Tennessee Gag Order
Nashville civil rights attorney Daniel Horwitz was silenced by a gag order, after discussing his cases with the media. Now, he's teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal First Amendment lawsuit…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment
Cocroft v. Graham – Mississippi Advertising
If it’s legal to sell a product, it’s also legal to talk about that product. But not in Mississippi—at least not if the product is medical marijuana. In 2022 Mississippi joined the growing number of…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Food Freedom
Federal Labeling Censorship
The First Amendment does not allow the government to decide which facts consumers are allowed to know. Yet the federal government is preventing tens of millions of Americans with sensitive stomachs from receiving the information…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
US Private Vaults Administrative Forfeiture
Linda Martin's home savings were seized by the FBI. She received a confusing forfeiture notice that didn't clearly say what she did wrong for the government to want to take her money.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Private Property | Vending
North Carolina Food Trucks
Jacksonville, North Carolina effectively bans food trucks from operating in 96 percent of the city. That's why a group of small business owners has teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit…
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
USPS Mail Seizure
The U.S. Post Office cannot open someone's mail without getting a warrant.
Ohio School Choice
Two of Ohio’s most popular educational choice programs are under attack. This IJ suit seeks to defend these programs, which tens of thousands of Ohio students depend on.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Civil Forfeiture Class Action
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…
Tarpon Springs Food Trucks
Tarpon Springs, Florida bans food trucks from operating in the downtown area, unless the owner also has a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The owners of one food truck are working with IJ to fight for their right…
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Pasco Predictive Policing
In true dystopian fashion, Pasco County in Florida, harasses people at their own homes through a method called “predictive policing.” The system tramples on the rights of Pasco residents by placing them under near-constant surveillance.
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Lantana 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…
Housing Abundance and Affordability | Private Property | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Sierra Vista Zoning
Under the guise of “zoning,” the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona is threatening to kick residents out of their homes in the middle of a pandemic. With IJ’s help, these residents are fighting back to…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing
Arizona Engineering Licensing
Greg Mills has been an engineer for more than 30 years, but now a group of industry insiders on a government board are saying he needs a license he does not actually need. IJ and…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Food Freedom
Mississippi Food Labeling Law
In 2019, after lobbying from the meat industry, Mississippi banned plant-based burgers from using meat-related words, such as burger or hotdog, in their marketing. IJ stepped in to represent plant-based companies in a First Amendment…
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Dunedin, FL Foreclosure
Nobody should lose their home because their grass is too long, but that’s exactly what the city of Dunedin is trying to do to Jim Ficken. Jim and IJ are fighting back against these excessive…
Fort Pierce Food Trucks
Fort Pierce, Florida used to have an incredibly restrictive rule that banned food trucks from operating within 500 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant. After two food truck operators partnered with IJ, a court ruled the…
Carolina Beach Food Trucks
In late August 2018, a little over a week after IJ launched a lawsuit, challenging Carolina Beach’s food truck restrictions, the town repealed its food truck restrictions due to the threat of IJ’s lawsuit.
Commercial Speech | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Food Freedom | Food Freedom
FDA Skim Milk
The FDA prevented Randy Sowers from labelling his skim milk as “skim milk” even though that’s exactly what it is. The First Amendment protects Randy’s right to tell the truth about his product, and after…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Florida Diet Coaching
Florida requires a license in order to provide dietary advice to a customer. Diet advice is simply a type of speech that should be protected by the First Amendment, and that’s why Heather Kokesch Del…
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
North Carolina Makeup Schools
Jasna Bukvic-Bhayani is a North Carolina-based professional makeup artist who wanted to open up a school to teach others how to apply makeup like her. But the state wanted her to open a full-fledged esthetics…
Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
New York City Evictions
Case Video Complaint Latest Release…
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Food Freedom
Florida Skim Milk
Ocheesee Creamery is censored from honestly labeling its skim milk as skim milk.
Rebekah's Amicus Briefs
Rowell v. Pettijohn
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Serafine v. Branaman
US Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit