Jared McClain is an attorney with the Institute for Justice.
He joined IJ in February 2022 after litigating public-interest cases for several years.
Jared’s practice focuses on government accountability, the First Amendment, property rights, and administrative law. He has also successfully challenged two federal agencies that irrationally prevented people with criminal records from participating in government programs.
Before becoming a public-interest lawyer, Jared clerked for the Honorable Andrea M. Leahy on the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. He was also a judicial extern for the Honorable Sally D. Adkins of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the Honorable Anthony Trenga of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Honorable R. Terence Ney of the Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia.
Jared’s writing has been featured in Slate, The Daily Beast, Reason, The Daily News, Orange County Register, InsideSources, The Carolina Journal, Post & Courier, The University of Miami Law Review, The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, The University of Baltimore Law Review, and The Journal of Southern Legal History.
He received his law degree with honors from George Mason University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
Jared is a member of the Maryland and D.C. bars and is admitted to practice in several federal courts throughout the country.
Jared's Cases
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Private Property
U.S. Citizen Demands End to Unconstitutional Raids and Detentions
A U.S. citizen, who was wrongly detained twice, is suing to stop unconstitutional raids on private construction sites.
Immunity and Accountability | Private Property | Rule of Law | SWAT Destruction
Innocent Family Seeks to Hold SWAT Team Accountable for Raiding the Wrong Home
A North Carolina family is seeking to hold SWAT teams accountable for raiding the wrong home in April 2024.
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Smalltown Newspaper Punished for its Reporting Fights for the First Amendment
Four residents of a small Alabama county were targeted for retaliation by a district attorney and sheriff. Now, they are suing with IJ to protect their constitutional rights.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
The FBI Raided the Wrong Home—the Government Refuses to Pay for the Damage
FBI agents raided the wrong home in suburban Atlanta. Now the federal government refuses to compensate the victims even though Congress passed a law permitting suits for damages caused by federal employees.
First Amendment
Attorney files federal lawsuit challenging court's gag order rule
Nashville civil rights attorney Daniel Horwitz was silenced by a gag order, after discussing his cases with the media. Now, he's teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal First Amendment lawsuit against the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, challenging the rule that was used to impose the gag order.
4th Amendment Project | Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Woman Seeks to Hold Police Accountable for Mistaken Identity Arrest
An innocent Texas woman was arrested in a case of mistaken identity while getting off a cruise in 2022. Now, she's suing Broward County for the unconstitutional arrest.
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Lawsuit Seeks Accountability for Unconstitutional Raid of a Political Opponent’s Home
Kansas police raided the home of a city councilwoman and seized her phone and computer in retaliation for her criticism of local officials.
Immunity and Accountability | Rule of Law
Family seeks to hold officer accountable after he led SWAT raid at wrong house
Everyone who visits a home for the first time—including delivery drivers, plumbers, and Girl Scouts—knows that you have to make sure you have the right address before barging in. Somehow, Waxahachie Police Department (WPD) Lieutenant Mike Lewis didn’t get the memo. In the dead of night, Lewis directed a heavily armed SWAT team to storm a home in which the innocent Karen Jimerson was getting ready for bed while her loved ones slept.
Rule of Law | Unjust Proceedings
Lawsuit from Oklahoma Small Business Challenges Administrative Courts Handing Down Ruinous Fines
A small masonry business challenges the constitutionality of agency courts that impose devastating fines without a jury trial or independent court.
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Maryland small business owner files federal lawsuit against USDA over policy of permanent punishment for crime for which he already served his time
When the government judges someone’s integrity, it should do so based on who they are today—not who they were 20 years ago. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), however, imposes…
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
California County Caught Fining Innocent Homeowners $10,000 Per Day for Offenses They Did Not Commit
In Humboldt County, the government issues ruinous fines for things people didn’t do because it doesn’t bother to investigate. Innocent landowners then have to appeal the fines to prove their innocence…
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Homeowner Fights Back Against NYC's "Unreviewable" Fines System
Serafim Katergaris was forced to pay $1,000 to the New York Department of Buildings (DOB) for a code violation he did not commit, did not know about and had no chance to challenge. Now, he's fighting back.
Economic Liberty | Private Property | Small and Home-Based Business | Zoning Justice Project
Home day care provider sues city after officials shut her down over complaints from golfers
Bianca King is a single mother with two young children. Until recently, she was able to raise her 2-and 4-year-old kids while making a living running a small day care out of her home. But on Feb. 9, city officials—citing concerns of a group of nearby golfers (including former Mayor Joe Bain) that they could hear and see children playing in her backyard—shut her down. Today, she joined forces with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a lawsuit in state court challenging Lakeway’s near total ban on running a home business.
Rule of Law | Unjust Proceedings
Family Farm Facing Ruinous Fines Sues Agency that Acts as Prosecutor, Judge and Jury
Family Farm Facing Ruinous Fines Sues Agency that Acts as Prosecutor, Judge and Jury
Jared's Amicus Briefs
Sosa v. Martin County
United States Supreme Court
Rogers v. Smith
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Cochran v. SEC
United States Supreme Court
Jared's News, Articles & Publications
Jared's Hearings
Humboldt Abatements Oral Argument
IJ filed a class action against Humboldt County in October 2022, alleging that the county’s code enforcement fines innocent people millions of dollars. The trial court dismissed the complaint in its entirety, saying that…
Jared's Letters & Statements
New Orleans Surveillance Camera Nastygram
New Orleans, Louisiana
Richmond Heights Video Surveillance Letter
Richmond Heights, Ohio
Jackson Video Surveillance Letter
Jackson, Mississippi
DeKalb County Video Surveillance Letter
DeKalb County, Georgia
Jared's Podcasts
September 04, 2026
Short Circuit 444 | Recording the Police with Facebook Immunity
Another circuit recognizes a there’s a First Amendment right to record the police. In this case, a “First Amendment auditor” stood on a public sidewalk […]
Listen NowFebruary 20, 2026
Short Circuit 416 | Kansas Two-Steps
In Colorado marijuana is legal under state law. In Kansas it is not. This had led Kansan police officers to stop a lot of cars […]
Listen NowJanuary 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 […]
Listen Now