The Institute for Justice litigates to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. IJ defends ordinary people who want to earn an honest living, own and enjoy their property, speak freely, and give their children a good education but find that the government is standing in their way.
We fight to hold government officials accountable when they violate constitutional rights and to prevent governments at all levels from bending the rules to expand their power or advance illegitimate ends.
IJ wins three out of four cases through outright courtroom victories or legislative change prompted by our lawsuits.
Featured Cases
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Alabama Open Fields
Killen, Alabama
Three northern Alabama residents have teamed up to file a lawsuit challenging a statute that allows game wardens to trespass on private property without a warrant.
Listeners’ Guide to Martin v. US
Supreme Court Argument Resources Find out more about the case Brief for Petitioners Supreme Court Docket Listen to the argument Media Contact Andrew Wimerawimer@staging.ij.org…
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property
FinCEN Border Cash Surveillance
Esperanza Gomez and Arnoldo Gonzalez, Jr. run small businesses near the U.S.-Mexico border that provide everyday, small-dollar financial services—often for customers without bank accounts. In San Diego, Esperanza helps customers cash checks (often to buy…
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | SWAT Destruction
North Carolina SWAT Destruction
A North Carolina family is seeking to hold SWAT teams accountable for raiding the wrong home in April 2024.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Teeth Whitening
Alabama Teeth Whitening
Alabama’s prohibition on non-dentist teeth whitening has nothing to do with protecting consumers and everything to do with protecting monopoly profits for dentists.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Health | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Texas Veterinary Speech
The First Amendment should apply to licensed professionals who give advice over the Internet.
4th Amendment Project | Economic Liberty | Private Property | Vending
Chicago Food Trucks
Chicago shouldn’t be in the business of protecting restaurants from food trucks.
Cosmetology | Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Nevada Makeup
The government cannot require teachers to spend hundreds of hours in a classroom to learn skills that have nothing to do with what they teach.
Virginia Certificate of Need
Virginia’s certificate of need program actually makes it illegal to offer new medical services or purchase certain types of medical equipment without first obtaining a special permission slip from the government.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
North Carolina Free Speech
This caveman blogger fought for free speech and Internet freedom.
Norfolk, VA Sign
In a double blow to free speech and property rights, Norfolk, Va., tried not only to take a thriving business through its power of eminent domain but also censor a highly visible sign that protested…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Portland Sedans
Portland, Ore., cannot constitutionally set transportation prices and make limousine and sedan customers wait for service merely to protect taxis from competition.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
IRS Tax Preparers
IJ successfully challenged the IRS’s authority to license tax return preparers. If the licensing scheme had not been struck down, some 350,000 tax return preparers would have been burdened by the new regulations, much to…
