Sam Gedge is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, where he litigates to protect private property, free speech, and other individual rights.
In his time at IJ, Sam has launched cases battling civil forfeiture and overzealous licensing boards, which have generated widespread coverage in media outlets from Wired and The Atlantic to The New York Times and London’s Daily Mail. In the landmark Excessive Fines Clause case of Timbs v. Indiana, Sam twice represented Tyson Timbs before the Indiana Supreme Court. He also is lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit challenging contingency-fee prosecutors in Indiana and is on the trial team challenging a notorious policing-for-profit scheme in Brookside, Alabama.
Before joining IJ, Sam worked as an attorney at Wiley Rein LLP, where he focused on litigation and election law. He clerked for Judge Raymond W. Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut.
Sam's Cases
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Jury Trials
Indiana Jury Trials The right to a trial by jury is fundamental to our system of justice. Particularly when the government is trying to confiscate property, the jury (as one court has put it) “stands…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Federal Government Seeks to Impose Multimillion Dollar Excessive Fine on Grandmother, Claiming a Fine is a “Civil Penalty.”
An Boston-area grandmother is fighting to have courts consider whether the multimillion-dollar penalty the government imposed on is unconstitutionally excessive.
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
People abused by small town’s “policing for profit” file class action seeking accountability
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
In many counties, private lawyers prosecute civil forfeiture cases—and take a cut of the money
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…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Forfeiture Defense Appeal
The state of Indiana is attempting to make Terry Abbott win back his seized money in court without a lawyer. However, IJ has stepped in to defend Terry on appeal and is urging the court…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing
North Carolina’s Surveying Board Grounds Small-Business Drone Operators
Michael Jones uses his drone to take photos for clients, but North Carolina argues that in doing so he’s practicing “land surveying” and needs a license. However, that’s not at all what he’s doing and…
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Nevada, Inc. v. Chandra
In an appeal filed in February 2021, the Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the question of whether federal judges have unfettered discretion to unilaterally inject their own arguments or…
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…
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…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
There ARE Limits: IJ Takes Excessive Fines Case to the U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Opinon Final Victory for Tyson Timbs Case Video…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Illegal Math? A state board in Oregon is punishing people for talking about traffic lights and any other “engineering” topics
Mats Järlström is an engineer, and he used those skills to criticize the formula used on red lights, suggesting the yellow lights should last a little longer. He was hit with a $500 fine from…
Sam's Amicus Briefs
New Georgia Project, Inc., et al. v. Attorney General of Georgia, et al.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Independence Institute v. FEC
Supreme Court of the United States