Institute for Justice
Liberty & Law
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Free to Speak for a Living
Charleston, South Carolina—and the whole country—got a little bit freer this August when a federal judge struck down that city’s licensing requirement for tour guides. Before IJ got involved in Charleston, people who were paid to tell stories to tourists could be thrown in jail for a month unless they first passed a 200-question test…
North Carolina CONs Doctors and Patients
Most Americans agree the health care industry faces enormous challenges. Providers are increasingly bound by red tape, costs just keep going up for patients, and lawmakers appear more interested in posturing than in policy. Under these conditions, it can be almost impossible to do a good deed—something Dr. Gajendra Singh knows all too well. Dr.…
Why Certificate of Need Laws Must Go
IJ’s challenge to North Carolina’s certificate of need (CON) law marks our third challenge to these kinds of state health care regulations. Taking on CON laws is a key facet of IJ’s strategy to protect economic liberty and strike down regulations that serve only to protect incumbent businesses from competition. Indeed, we have already secured…
Georgia Lactation Consultants Sue to Keep Their Jobs—and Keep Helping Moms and Babies
Despite popular perception, breastfeeding is an acquired skill, and many moms, first-time and veteran alike, benefit from working with lactation consultants who offer assessment, guidance, and support. That’s why it is so important that IJ is teaming up with lactation consultants in Georgia to challenge a new law that threatens to put more than 800…
Teaching Virginia Bureaucrats a Lesson in Free Speech
Jon McGlothian of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is an Army veteran and an all-star project management instructor. His wife, Tracy, owns a successful sewing business and wants to teach her skills to others. But Jon and Tracy’s entrepreneurial dreams became a bureaucratic nightmare when they encountered the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). As…
Educational Choice Victories Keep Coming
IJ’s educational choice team closed out the summer with a bang. In the last issue of Liberty & Law, we described IJ’s defense of a brand new educational scholarship program in Puerto Rico. Since then, IJ won that case at the Puerto Rico Supreme Court—setting a record for our fastest high court victory! Thanks to…
Victory!
Two years ago, IJ sued Louisiana’s cosmetology board on behalf of eyebrow threaders who were forced to obtain an expensive, unnecessary esthetician’s license to practice their craft. Now IJ’s clients—and threaders like them across the state—are back to work doing what they love. That is because the board, facing the prospect of a long and…
Tech Entrepreneurs Map New Terrain for Free Speech
Increasingly, modern technology allows entrepreneurs to bring us information that used to require hiring experienced professionals. Whether it’s Zillow for property valuations, LegalZoom for simple legal documents, or Mint for basic financial advice, new startups are constantly chipping away at the margins of longstanding occupations. Of course, members of these occupations frequently don’t take kindly…
Throwing the Book at an Outdated Federal Law
Outdated technology gets replaced. Outdated businesses get crushed by innovative competitors. But as one small-business owner has recently learned, outdated laws just keep going. The U.S. Copyright Office is using one of these outdated laws to threaten a small publisher, Valancourt Books, with fines totaling nearly six figures for not sending the government free books.…
IJ Scores Sweeping Forfeiture Victory in New Mexico
Great news from the Land of Enchantment! In July, IJ successfully persuaded a federal judge in New Mexico to rule that a forfeiture program run by that state’s largest city, Albuquerque, violates the U.S. Constitution. This groundbreaking ruling will have seismic effects not just in New Mexico but across the entire nation. For years, New…
IJ Supreme Court Case Brings Together Diverse Advocates for Property Owners
When you are preparing to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, you want all the friends you can get. When your case challenges abusive civil forfeiture practices and excessive government fines and deals with the implications of over 800 years of history—you need all the friends you can get. We at IJ are grateful to…
