John Wrench

Assistant Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement

John Wrench is the Assistant Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice.

John joined IJ’s headquarters office in 2019 as a Constitutional Law Fellow. He received his law degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he was a member of the Federalist Society and served as editor in chief of the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. John also interned in his law school’s First Amendment Litigation Clinic and was a judicial extern to the Honorable Paul E. Davison in the Southern District of New York. Before law school, John graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies.

At IJ, John has litigated in defense of free speech and property rights across the country. In 2023, John convinced a state trial court that the Iowa Constitution is more protective of Iowans’ right to be secure against suspicionless rental home searches than the Fourth Amendment. He has a focus on state constitutions and is a regular contributor to the Federalist Society’s State Court Docket Watch, a publication that discusses state court jurisprudence, trends, and ground-breaking decisions.

John's Cases

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John's Research & Reports

Constitutional GPA

Immunity and Accountability

Constitutional GPA

Constitutional rights only exist if they can be enforced. But a confusing patchwork of immunity doctrines and special rules often means they cannot be. Chief among the doctrines that prevent constitutional accountability is qualified immunity,…

Economic Liberty | Health

Conning the Competition

A Certificate Of Need (CON) is a government-mandated permission slip to start or expand a business. Think of a CON like an expensive admission ticket to access an exclusive club. You can be sure that…

John's News, Articles & Publications

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