Kirby Thomas West is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and the co-director of IJ’s National Initiative to End Forfeiture Abuse. She litigates cases protecting property rights, First Amendment rights, and educational choice.
Kirby’s property rights practice focuses on civil forfeiture. She is currently the lead attorney in IJ’s class-action challenge to the unconstitutional vehicle forfeiture program in Wayne County, Michigan. She has testified about forfeiture abuse before the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kirby has litigated educational choice cases in state and federal court, including the United States Supreme Court, where she was a member of the IJ team that won the landmark 2022 ruling in Carson v. Makin. She is currently the lead attorney in IJ’s case defending an educational choice program in Alaska.
Kirby’s First Amendment practice focuses primarily on First Amendment retaliation cases. She achieved a favorable settlement for clients in a retaliation case in Wisconsin, including serious reforms to the town’s code enforcement policies. She has an active First Amendment retaliation case in Michigan.
Kirby received her law degree with honors from Harvard Law School in 2015. While in law school, she served as Articles Editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. She graduated, magna cum laude, from Bucknell University in 2012 with a BA in English and Political Science.
Before joining IJ, Kirby was a litigation associate at Baker Botts, LLP. She clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Kirby's Cases
4th Amendment Project | Open Fields Doctrine | Private Property
Pennsylvania man files federal lawsuit challenging law allowing Fish and Boat Commission to enter property without warrant
A Pennsylvania man is challenging a state law that gives "fish cops" broad power to enter private property without a warrant after an officer repeatedly trespassed at his lakeside cabin.
First Amendment | First Amendment Retaliation | Immunity and Accountability
Wayne County Seized His Car Without Evidence. When He Spoke Out, They Filed Criminal Charges to Silence Him.
Wayne County prosecutors retaliated against Robert Reeves for joining a lawsuit challenging the county's civil forfeiture program.
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
IJ and a Group of Alaska Parents Seek to Protect Alaska's Popular Correspondence School Program
Alaska families intervene to defend a correspondence school program that gives them more options for their children's education.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Armored Car Company Sues Federal Law Enforcement and a California Sheriff After Series of Illegal Roadside Seizures
An armored car company sued after a California sheriff teamed up with federal law enforcement to take proceeds from legal cannabis businesses.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
Small Wisconsin Town Weaponizes Code Enforcement to Enrich a Private Law Firm and Target Its Critics
The town of Eagle, WI works with a private law firm to punish residents who speak out against town officials by hitting them with excessive fines and fees through the code enforcement process. Victims of this corrupt system have joined with IJ to push back and say: prosecutors must serve the public interest, not their own pocketbooks.
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Grandparents Sue Granite State Over Unconstitutional Restriction on School Choice Program
The town of Croydon, New Hampshire does not operate a middle school and instead pays students’ tuition at nearby public or private schools. But a New Hampshire law prevented Croydon families from spending the money to choose a religious school. After a family challenged the law in court, the Legislature eliminated the unconstitutional restriction.
4th Amendment Project | Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Detroit’s Unconstitutional Civil Forfeiture Program
For decades, residents of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan have lived under constant threat of having their cars taken away and ransomed back to them for $1,000 or more—that is, if the car is ever recovered. In 2020, two Detroiters teamed up with IJ to challenge this unconstitutional civil forfeiture program.
Fines and Fees | Private Property | Rule of Law
The Windy City Tows the Cars of Innocent People and Holds Them for Ransom
Chicago is towing the cars of innocent people and holding them for ransom. Victims of this unjust system are taking a stand, with IJ’s help, and calling for an end to this impound racket.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Pennsylvania newspaper fights local district attorney to make forfeiture records public
Americans have a right to know details about misdeeds being committed by their government. LancasterOnline, a publication in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, worked with IJ to ensure citizens have access to information about what police are taking from them through the process of civil forfeiture.
Educational Choice | Publicly Funded Scholarships
Maine Families Fight for School Choice in U.S. Supreme Court Appeal
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Mississippi Regulatory Board Sues Tech Entrepreneurs to Prevent Competition
An overly-broad statute defined a small mapping company in Mississippi as an “unlicensed surveying” company. This statute would have shut down Vizaline, but with help from IJ, Vizaline fought back to protect its First Amendment right to generate and disseminate information to advise their clients.
Kirby's Amicus Briefs
Pennsylvania v. Thiam
Kirby's News, Articles & Publications
Kirby's Hearings
Alaska School Choice Oral Argument
On June 27, 2024, the Alaska Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit that seeks to strike down the state’s popular correspondence school program, through which families can receive compensation for educational expenses,…
Kirby's Podcasts
August 03, 2026
Unpublished Opinions 26 | The Batman Approach
John Wrench is joined by Kirby West and Josh Windham to discuss some of the major threats to liberty, including warrantless mass surveillance, the facial/as-applied […]
Listen NowJune 05, 2026
SEIZED CASH: Americans Struggle to Get Property Back
In America, police and prosecutors can take your cash, your car, or even your home through a legal process called civil forfeiture—without convicting or even […]
Listen NowApril 30, 2026
Unpublished Opinions 24 | What If It’s Not Peyote?
John Wrench is joined by Sam Gedge and Kirby West for a session of hot takes, hard questions, and changed minds. The trio challenge received […]
Listen NowFebruary 03, 2026
Unpublished Opinions 22 | The Lorax Doctrine
John Wrench welcomes Josh Windham and Kirby Thomas West for a gameshow episode that proves Schiller’s insight that one becomes fully human through play. A […]
Listen NowJanuary 23, 2026
Short Circuit 412 | “Nothing to see here”
Lovers of municipal crime and corruption—and internal affairs departments not doing their jobs—may enjoy the stories this week from Detroit and Baltimore. First, Kirby Thomas […]
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