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Taxi Day for IJ at 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals

September 21, 2016

Seizure vs. Forfeiture: A Crucial Distinction

September 22, 2016

Less than 1% of 8,000 charities rated have received at least 14 consecutive 4-star ratings

Seizure vs. Forfeiture: A Crucial Distinction

IJ Amicus Brief Alerts High Court to Abuse of Civil Forfeiture Using Drug Dogs

Although related, seizure and forfeiture are not interchangeable. This difference is important. Law enforcement lobbyists routinely conflate the two in their attempts to oppose forfeiture reform. For instance, in 2015, the president of the California Police Chiefs Association argued that a reform bill considered by the California Legislature would affect the ability of police “to seize…

Taxi Companies Cannot Block Competition, but They Could Compete

IJ client Dan Burgess drives for ridesharing companies uberX, Sidecar and Lyft and is fighting to defend his economic liberty.

Taxi companies that have been trying to limit competition from ridesharing services are being presented with a much better alternative. As it turns out, deregulating the traditional cabs is a more effective (and constitutional) way to compete with increasingly popular ridesharing names like Uber and Lyft. The taxi companies have made it clear that being…

Taxi Day at 7th Circuit in Chicago

Taxi cab fleet Freedom Ride 10-30-12 034 Modified

The rise of Uber and other ridesharing services shined a light on how the taxicab industry has created artificial barriers to entry into the market. Those barriers to entry were the focus of two court cases heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. One case challenged Milwaukee’s repeal of the cap on…

NYPD Has No Idea How Much Cash It Seized, Claims Transparency Would Lead to “System Crashes”

The New York City Council’s Public Safety Committee considered a bill on Thursday that would shine a light on the NYPD’s seizure activity. Under legislation proposed by Councilmember Ritchie Torres, and co-sponsored by 37 councilmembers, the NYPD would have to submit reports each year disclosing the amount of cash, vehicles, wallets, phones and other types…

Maryland Homeowners Fighting Back Against City Land Grab

The city of Cumberland, Maryland, appears to be peaceful and thriving to drivers passing through on I-68. But, a dozen homeowners in the Rolling Mill neighborhood are locked in a battle with the city. The fight began more than a year ago when the city chose the neighborhood as an ideal location for redevelopment. ABC7…

Listen Up Feds: Get Out of the Way and Save Lives

Paying bone marrow donors for their time and money has the potential to save thousands of lives every year. What’s more, compensation has virtually no downsides. Yet the federal government is still fighting to stop it. Proposed federal regulations would prohibit Hemeos, a health care startup, from using compensation to help people in desperate need of a marrow transport. This…

USA Today: We Need More Lawyers Like IJ

Glenn Reynolds, better known as Instapundit, gave the Institute for Justice high-praise in his most recent column for USA Today: One group that I’ve admired for years is the Institute for Justice, a free-market public-interest law firm that works to protect people, mostly poor people, from the heavy hand of the state. Writing that “we…

When the government gets in your way, have you ever stopped and asked why?

EVERYTHING

Watch the Institute for Justice’s award-winning short film spotlighting the importance of compensating bone marrow donors.

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Our Issues

School Choice

School choice is simply the idea that all parents, regardless of means, should enjoy the freedom to choose what schools their children attend.
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Economic Liberty

The right to earn a living in the occupation of your choice without unnecessary government interference is at the heart of the American Dream.
more on this issue »
First Amendment

We seek to defend the free flow of information—information that is indispensable to our democratic form of government and to our free enterprise economy.
more on this issue »
Private Property

Respecting the right of private property is essential to a just and prosperous society. But government at all levels—local, state and federal—routinely infringe on these rights.
more on this issue »

Ocheesee Creamery

Mary Lou Wesselhoeft and her husband Paul Wesselhoeft own Ocheesee Creamery, a small creamery in the Florida Panhandle. Because of the all-natural dairy philosophy that Mary Lou follows, she added nothing to the creamery’s skim milk. But a state agency wants her to use a confusing and misleading label that labels the milk something it is not: “Non-Grade ‘A’ Milk Product, Natural Milk Vitamins Removed.”

Jason and Jacki Wiebesick

Jason and Jacki have owned their property in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis, for decades. But the city hasn’t respected their tenants’ wishes and instead has tried to obtain unconstitutional “administrative” warrants to force its way inside.

Aurora Espinoza

Aurora Espinoza is a single mom who works a full‑time job to make ends meet, has two daughters who are trapped by their zip code in some of the worst public schools in the state.

Silvio Membreno

IJ client Silvio Membreno built his business by selling flowers to consumers where they want to buy them. But the city of Hialeah, Fla., is unconstitutionally restricting his business.

John Rinaldi

When John tried to expand his cab business to Bowling Green, he was stymied by a city law that limited the number of taxis allowed in the city to only 16. Less than two months after he filed a lawsuit, Bowling Green repealed the cap.

Susette Kelo

Dan Leger

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.

Aicheria Bell

Aicheria Bell lives in Des Moines. She is passionate about natural hair care and has been braiding hair since she was three years old.

Regino Soriano

Regino Soriano owns a popular food truck named El Bandolero, but his plans to expand have been significantly restricted by San Antonio’s city’s 300-foot rule.

Robin Farris

Robin Farris beat Washington state’s Public Disclosure Commission with IJ’s help. She fought for the right to sue the government to protect our constitutional rights.

Celeste Kelly

IJ client Celeste Kelly spent hundreds of hours learning about horses in order to obtain private certifications in animal massage. But now the state of Arizona is forcing her to become a licensed veterinarian to continue practicing her craft.

Shelia Champion

Shelia Champion lives in Hazel Green, Alabama and operates a cemetery, The Good Earth Burial Ground.

Jane Astramecki

IJ client Jane Astramecki, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, runs a home baking business. But Minnesota’s restrictive cottage food law bans her from earning more than $5,000 a year and from selling her treats at venues other than farmers’ markets and community events.

Ash Patel

Charles Clarke

Charles Clarke is a college student, who spent over 5 years to save up $11,000—only to have it seized by law enforcement officials before he was scheduled to board a flight at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport.

Lissette Waugh

Nevada is trying to force makeup artistry instructors, like IJ client Lissette Waugh, to get a license they don’t need.

Tom Carroll and Hermine Ricketts

Miami Shores Village, Fla., told Tom Carroll and Hermine Ricketts to remove their front-yard vegetable garden or face $50 a day in fines. But trees, fruit and garden gnomes are just fine.

Kim Billups

Kim has everything she needs to run her tour guide business in Charleston—except the government’s permission to talk.

Tameka Stigers

IJ client Tameka Stigers is the proud owner of a braiding business, but Missouri’s arbitrary and irrational cosmetology regime threatens her livelihood.

David Vocatura

Vocatura’s Bakery was founded in 1919, almost one hundred years ago, and has been owned and operated by three generations of the Vocatura family. Claiming the owners violated so-called “structuring” laws by depositing cash in the bakery’s bank account in amounts less than $10,000, the IRS seized more than $68,000 from the family.

Panna Shah

Panna Shah came to the United States from India in 2006 in search of a better life. She has been threading for more than 30 years but would be unable to thread full-time because she can’t afford to complete Louisiana’s irrelevant training requirements.

Rhett Keisler

Rett owns Revolver Brewing, south of Fort Worth. He is fighting a Texas law that forces brewers to give up their distribution rights to distributors for free. Even worse, distributors can then sell those rights to other distributors and pocket the money.

Norys Hernandez

Norys Hernandez co-owns a home in North Philadelphia with her sister, who resides there. Norys has never been in trouble with the law. But her home was seized after her nephew was caught selling a small amount of drugs outside the home.

Aimee and Heath Hairr

Aimee and Heath Hairr have five adopted children. Their oldest, Nolan, was floundering in his public school and endured intense bullying. The Hairrs just want Nolan to have a safe learning environment and for their other children to have the same.

Teresa Quinones

Teresa Quinones, of Lawrenceville, Ga., is a mother of three young children. Her two oldest children, Audri and Christopher, attend Notre Dame Academy, thanks to Georgia’s Scholarship Tax-Credit Program.

Jim and Cliff Courtney

Jim and Cliff Courtney have a plan to bring economic prosperity to their small community. Unfortunately, the state of Washington has sunk their plan with a law that requires them to obtain a certificate of “public convenience and necessity” from the state in order to pick up and drop off passengers.

Keith Westphal

IJ clients Keith Westphal and Joyce Osborn Wilson are banned from offering Alabamians a comfortable and clean place to use the prepackaged, teeth-whitening products they sell to customers.

Grace Granatelli

After obtaining her private certifications in canine massage therapy, Grace started volunteering with rescue agencies and adoption events to provide canine massage for ailing and neglected dogs. She later turned her volunteer hobby into a business, which she named Pawsitive Touch.

Carl and Joy Gamble

Norwood, Ohio wanted to bulldoze Carl and Joy’s home of more than three decades to make way for a private developer.

Mike Warfield

Fed up with Charleston’s endless series of trivial questions, Mike is standing up for his First Amendment right to talk to paying customers without first getting the government’s permission.

Ken Leininger

After eight years of working as a driver for Yellow Cab, Ken Leininger decided to start his own business. But when Ken tried to get permits for his new business early last year, Little Rock denied his applications.

Ricardo Quintanilla

Ricardo Quintanilla operates Tacos el Regio but San Antonio’s vending restrictions make it difficult to operate.

Ron Hines

The First Amendment should apply to licensed professionals who give advice over the Internet.

Christos and Markela Sourovelis

Chris and Markela Sourovelis worked their whole lives to build a home for their family. Officials in Philadelphia then tried to use civil forfeiture to take it all away, even though Chris and Markela did nothing wrong.

Markela Sourovelis

Michelle and Steven Freenor

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.

Salamata Sylla

The Washington Department of Licensing ordered IJ client Salamata Sylla to obtain a time-consuming and irrelevant cosmetology license for hair braiding. IJ sued on her behalf and forced the Department to adopt a rule exempting braiders.

Hinga Mbogo

For more than 30 years, Hinga Mbogo has been fixing the cars of Dallas residents at his shop on Ross Avenue. But the city is trying to shut him down by using an oppressive and little-known zoning process called “amortization.”

Ken Quran

Khalid (“Ken”) Quran moved to America in 1997, and now runs a convenience store in Greenville, N.C. But the government seized his entire bank account—more than $150,000—even though he was never charged with a crime.

Lyndon McLellan

Lyndon McLellan has spent more than a decade running L&M Convenience Mart in rural North Carolina. Then, without any warning, agents from the IRS seized his entire bank account, totaling more than $107,000.

Valarie Whitner

Valarie has received a set of warnings from Pagedale, threatening her with fines and fees for alleged violations. She was even arrested in front of her home and taken to Pagedale city hall because of an unspecified ticket.

Colon Health Centers for America

Dr. Mark Baumel, of Colon Health Centers for America, wants to increase the rate of screening for colon cancers. But when Dr. Baumel and his partners sought Virginia’s permission to buy new CT scanners, it denied them a “certificate of need.”

Jim Roos

St. Louis tried to take Jim Roos’ property through eminent domain. Jim protested by painting a giant sign on one of his buildings. The city then tried to censor him.

Larry Miller

Larry Miller has been fighting for the rights of Atlanta’s vendors for the past twenty-five years.

Charlie Birnbaum

Charlie Birnbaum is fighting to keep his family home in Atlantic City, N.J., which has been in his family for 50 years. But New Jersey wants to take it for the benefit of a bankrupt casino.

Dela Ends

Dela Ends owns and runs a small, USDA-certified organic farm in Green County, Wisconsin. Selling her home-baked goods would let Dela help support her family, but is illegal under state law.

Michael Nolan

Michael loves Charleston and plans to tell its story to visitors, but he will do so because he has a right to say what he wants—not because the city has given him its permission.

Jeff Hirsch

Jeff has spent almost 30 years building a successful small business with his brothers, distributing candy, snacks and other goods to convenience stores throughout Long Island. But the government raided the business’s bank account using civil forfeiture—taking $446,000 and nearly destroying the family business. T

Liz Robbins

Liz has seven children, three of whom have a severe tissue disorder called EDS which requires constant medical attention. Liz needs Nevada’s ESA so she can design a quality education for her youngest EDS child, Dallin, who will likely miss a lot of school in the future.

Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto

Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto, a Democrat representing Bernalillo County, carried the Forfeiture Reform bill on the floor of the Senate.

IJ By the Numbers

4 Litigation Pillars

Economic Liberty
Property Rights
School Choice
Free Speech

Support

92% from individuals
8% from foundations

5 U.S. Supreme Court cases since 2002, including 4 victories

IJ is currently litigating 43 cases in 26 states and Washington, D.C.

Active Cases |

Closed Cases

7 offices

95 employees, including 43 attorneys

Attorneys

Staff

1040 Partners giving $1,000 or more each year

Over 8,000 individual donors

= 25 donors

$20 million budget in FY16

FY15 Budget Breakdown

83%: Programs

10%: Management

7%: Development

75 legislative reforms secured

40 national awards for communications

70%

Success Rate

Through litigation and legislation

IJ strategic research cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and in 162 articles in scholarly, law, and policy publications.

64 eminent domain projects and blight designations defeated by IJ activism.

Behind the Scenes at IJ

Let Them Bake!

Home bakers (along with IJ’s activism team) rallying at the New Jersey State House for the right to sell their delicious baked goods.
Livestream

Behind the scenes at our Facebook livestream for the premiere of our film, “Everything.”
Eminent Domain Fight

Taken at today’s press conference in Ogden, UT. The city is trying to say this home (and others in the neighborhood) is “blighted.”
Victory for Entrepreneurs!

Governor Matt Bevin signing S.B. 269, which exempts natural hair braiders in Kentucky from needing to obtain a cosmetology license. IJ’s activism team helped Kentucky hair braiders organize to demand reforms to the state’s cosmetology licensing laws.
Liberty in Action

IJ Attorney Rob Pecolla teaching a crowd of concerned homeowners and tenants about their 4th Amendment right to refuse unconstitutional city inspections.

Institute for Justice

Homepage

Taxi Day for IJ at 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals

Seizure vs. Forfeiture: A Crucial Distinction

Less than 1% of 8,000 charities rated have received at least 14 consecutive 4-star ratings

Institute for Justice | Update | September 22, 2016

Chris Dobrogosz | Update | September 22, 2016

Matt Powers | Update | September 21, 2016

Nick Sibilla | Update | September 20, 2016

Matt Powers | Update | September 19, 2016

Chris Dobrogosz | Update | September 19, 2016

Matt Powers | Update | September 14, 2016

When the government gets in your way, have you ever stopped and asked why?

EVERYTHING

Watch the Institute for Justice’s award-winning short film spotlighting the importance of compensating bone marrow donors.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

The National Law Firm for Liberty

Our Issues

School Choice

Economic Liberty

First Amendment

Private Property

IJ By the Numbers

4 Litigation Pillars

Support

5 U.S. Supreme Court cases since 2002, including 4 victories

IJ is currently litigating 43 cases in 26 states and Washington, D.C.

7 offices

95 employees, including 43 attorneys

Attorneys

Staff

1040 Partners giving $1,000 or more each year

Over 8,000 individual donors

FY15 Budget Breakdown

83%: Programs

10%: Management

7%: Development

75 legislative reforms secured

40 national awards for communications

70%

Success Rate

Through litigation and legislation

IJ strategic research cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and in 162 articles in scholarly, law, and policy publications.

64 eminent domain projects and blight designations defeated by IJ activism.

Behind the Scenes at IJ

Let Them Bake!

Livestream

Eminent Domain Fight

Victory for Entrepreneurs!

Liberty in Action

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Litigating for Liberty.

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