Memberships

The California and DC Bars

Jaba Tsitsuashvili is an attorney at the Institute for Justice. He litigates in federal courts across the country to counter abusive policing and other infringements of constitutional rights by federal and state governments.

Jaba’s cases focus on Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful searches and seizures; the due process rights of individuals accused of civil or criminal offenses; and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of excessive fines. Through those protections, Jaba’s work aims to scale back and eliminate abusive fines and fees, civil forfeiture of property, and accountability-eliminating doctrines like qualified immunity.

As part of IJ’s Project on Immunity and Accountability, Jaba litigates and writes amicus briefs on issues of qualified immunity, prosecutorial immunity, Bivens liability, the Federal Tort Claims Act, and related doctrines that shield police and other government actors from accountability for constitutional violations.

Before joining IJ, Jaba litigated immigrants’ due process and First Amendment rights and prisoners’ religious liberty and disability rights. For his work on behalf of detained migrants, he was a recipient of the ACLU of Southern California’s 2019 Access to Justice Award.

Jaba is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the University of California at San Diego.

Jaba's Cases

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Jaba's Amicus Briefs

Roberts v Thompson

Roberts v Thompson

United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit

J.W. v. Paley

J.W. v. Paley

United States Supreme Court

Rios v. Redding

Rios v. Redding

10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Villarreal v. Laredo

Villarreal v. Laredo

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

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Jaba's News, Articles & Publications

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Jaba's Podcasts

March 06, 2026

Short Circuit 418 | ICE Detention and Booze-Sniffing Dogs

[Note: This episode was down for a couple days but has been reposted. It originally dropped on March 6, 2026.] If you’ve ever wondered if […]

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January 08, 2026

Americans Keep Getting Caught Up In Immigration Raids

Leo Garcia Venegas and George Retes were simply trying to work, when they got ensnared by dragnet federal immigration raids. Even though both men identified […]

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