Institute for Justice
Liberty & Law
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Landmark Victory
After more than four long years of litigation, Philadelphia has shut down its unconstitutional forfeiture machine and instituted sweeping reforms of how it seizes and forfeits property. This victory will bring long-awaited justice to more than 25,000 property owners—and require the city to respect the property rights of every resident in the future. As regular…
IJ Returns to the U.S. Supreme Court
Every U.S. Supreme Court case requires extraordinary time, effort, and resources. IJ’s sixth appearance before the Court—in Timbs v. Indiana—was no exception. IJ’s involvement in the case began last November, when the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition on excessive fines in the U.S. Constitution does not apply to state and local governments. Within…
The IJ Victories You Haven’t Heard About
Longtime friends of IJ are used to our victories often being hard-fought. We spend years grinding out difficult legal victories in unfriendly terrain in order to achieve the kind of principled and far-ranging victories that our clients and supporters have come to expect. But not everything works out that way. Sometimes we win so quickly…
IJ Symposium on the 14th Amendment Calls for Judicial Engagement
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, a post-Civil War amendment so important that it’s often referred to as part of America’s “Second Founding.” Indeed, because it applied constitutional protections against the states, it’s an amendment that’s at the heart of almost all of the Institute for Justice’s litigation against state and local…
Back in the Saddle
IJ never gives up. When the law is bad, we change it. And whenever there is an opportunity to turn defeat into victory, we seize it. This fall, that determination took IJ back to Texas to vindicate the free speech rights of Dr. Ron Hines. Ron is a veterinarian dedicated to helping animals. Because of…
Two New Federal Lawsuits Tackle Longtime Barriers to Educational Choice
Liberty & Law readers know that IJ racked up a string of legal victories in defense of educational choice programs over the past few months. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision also gave us an opportunity to go on the offensive. This fall, IJ unveiled a cutting-edge legal strategy to seize that opportunity, with two…
Final Weeks
Two years ago, IJ launched the Bernard and Lisa Selz Legacy Challenge to ensure that we have the resources we need to continue defending liberty for generations to come. We are now in the final weeks of the campaign, and we ask for your help to meet our ambitious goal and secure IJ’s long-term strength…
IJ Receives Charity Navigator’s Highest Rating 17 Years Running
For the 17th consecutive year, IJ has earned Charity Navigator’s highest rating—four stars—for our commitment to financial health, accountability, and transparency. Charity Navigator is the world’s largest and most utilized charity rating service, assessing more than 9,000 nonprofits every year. In once again awarding IJ the designation, Charity Navigator wrote: Less than 1% of the…
Mi Casa Es Mi Casa
Following our resounding victory for educational choice in Puerto Rico this summer, IJ continues working to bring greater freedom to the island with the launch of our largest Spanish language activism campaign yet. Puerto Ricans are still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma, but many fear losing their homes and livelihoods…
Defending the Right to use Private Property to Provide a Helping Hand
IJ has long defended lower-income Americans from eminent domain abuse, fines-and-fees schemes, and voracious forfeiture programs. The overarching principle guiding our approach is that property rights matter for everyone—and they often matter the most for those who have the least. We are now taking the fight for property rights in a bold new direction in…
Victory
IJ continues to build on our string of victories for food truck owners, and our latest win comes from Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Only one week after IJ filed suit challenging the town’s ban on competition, the government capitulated and repealed its unnecessary barrier to earning an honest living. This came as welcome news to…
At What Cost?
Since IJ opened its doors, we have argued not only that occupational licensing shuts people out of work, but also that it robs consumers and the wider economy of the benefits of honest competition. Thanks to a new report from IJ’s strategic research program, we have top-notch data to back up our argument. Released in…
IJ Communications Team Racks Up Awards
This was another banner year for IJ’s communications team, which since our founding has racked up more than 55 national awards for its work personalizing, humanizing, and dramatizing the fight for freedom. Among the awards received this year was the Roe Award, presented to IJ Vice President for Communications John Kramer. The Roe Award, named…
South Side Pitch Entrepreneurs Swing for the Fences
On October 11, the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship hosted the 5th Annual South Side Pitch event to highlight some of the most innovative entrepreneurs from Chicago’s South Side. Of more than 700 applicants over the past five years, just 26 have been invited to pitch at the competition. This year, Melody Roberts of…
