Sam Gedge is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, where he litigates to protect private property, free speech, and other individual rights.
In his time at IJ, Sam has launched cases battling civil forfeiture and overzealous licensing boards, which have generated widespread coverage in media outlets from Wired and The Atlantic to The New York Times and London’s Daily Mail. In the landmark Excessive Fines Clause case of Timbs v. Indiana, Sam twice represented Tyson Timbs before the Indiana Supreme Court. He also is lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit challenging contingency-fee prosecutors in Indiana and is on the trial team challenging a notorious policing-for-profit scheme in Brookside, Alabama.
Before joining IJ, Sam worked as an attorney at Wiley Rein LLP, where he focused on litigation and election law. He clerked for Judge Raymond W. Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut. He is admitted to practice law only in Virginia.
Sam's Cases
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Jouppi v. Alaska
April 3, 2012, began like any other day for Ken Jouppi, a longtime bush pilot in Alaska. He was scheduled to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks 110 miles north to the village…
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom
Florida Cultivated Meat Ban
Americans love meat. According to the USDA, between beef, pork, chicken, and turkey, the average American eats nearly 225 pounds of meat per year.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Parcel Forfeiture
Henry and Minh Cheng, who run a wholesale jewelry business, are fighting Indiana to keep money a customer sent them through FedEx. Indiana police seized the money and prosecutors are trying to take it through…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Jury Trials
Indiana Jury Trials The right to a trial by jury is fundamental to our system of justice. Particularly when the government is trying to confiscate property, the jury (as one court has put it) “stands…
Fines and Fees | Private Property
Foreign Bank Account Fines
An Boston-area grandmother is fighting to have courts consider whether the multimillion-dollar penalty the government imposed on is unconstitutionally excessive.
4th Amendment Project | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Brookside, Alabama Fines
Victims of Brookside, Alabama's policing abuses filed a class action to affirm that police must act in the interest of justice, not their pocketbooks…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Civil Forfeiture Class Action
In Indiana, prosecutors profit off the civil forfeiture cases they prosecute, creating perverse incentives that strips Hoosiers of their basic due process rights. A federal class action lawsuit from IJ seeks to end for-profit prosecutions…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Indiana Forfeiture Defense Appeal
The state of Indiana is attempting to make Terry Abbott win back his seized money in court without a lawyer. However, IJ has stepped in to defend Terry on appeal and is urging the court…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing
360 Virtual Drone Services LLC v. Ritter
Michael Jones uses his drone to take photos for clients, but North Carolina argues that in doing so he’s practicing “land surveying” and needs a license. However, that’s not at all what he’s doing and…
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Nevada, Inc. v. Chandra
In an appeal filed in February 2021, the Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the question of whether federal judges have unfettered discretion to unilaterally inject their own arguments or…
Granite City Compulsory Evictions
Granite City, Illinois is trying to kick Andy Simpson and Debi Brumit out of their home for a crime they didn’t commit. Andy and Debi are fighting back with IJ to uphold the basic principle…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Pennsylvania Pipeline Eminent Domain
A pipeline company abused eminent domain to take property from the Erbs without paying them for the taking. IJ petitioned the Supreme Court to take the Erbs’ case, but unfortunately the court declined to hear…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Timbs v. Indiana
U.S. Supreme Court Opinon Final Victory for Tyson Timbs Case Video…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech
Oregon Engineering Speech
Mats Järlström is an engineer, and he used those skills to criticize the formula used on red lights, suggesting the yellow lights should last a little longer. He was hit with a $500 fine from…
Other Property Rights Abuses | Private Property
New York City Evictions
Case Video Complaint Latest Release…
Sam's Research & Reports
Code Enforcement | Fines and Fees | Private Property
Are Municipal Fines and Fees Tools of Stategraft?
Most, if not all, incorporated communities in the United States have municipal and traffic codes that delineate the powers and duties of local governments or provide rules and regulations for public activity in the community.
Sam's Amicus Briefs
New Georgia Project, Inc., et al. v. Attorney General of Georgia, et al.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Nicole K. v. Stigdon
United States Supreme Court
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of Nevada, et. al. v. Chandra, et. al.
United States Supreme Court
Independence Institute v. FEC
Supreme Court of the United States
Sam's News, Articles & Publications
Sam's Hearings
Indiana Jury Trials Oral Argument
The right to a jury trial is fundamental to our justice system. The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases in federal court. Likewise, most state constitutions protect the right to a jury trial in civil cases in state court. The Indiana Constitution is no exception. Read More
North Carolina Drones Oral Argument
Michael Jones started a one-man drone operation in 2016 providing clients with photos of land that he then used software to combine into high-definition maps. But to the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, this simple act of taking pictures was an unlicensed act of surveying and they… Read More
Sam's Podcasts
April 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 NowNovember 19, 2025
Unpublished Opinions 20 | And Fascism
Your IJ roundtable is back with hot takes and tepid reflection. John Wrench, joined by Sam Gedge and Josh Windham, share tips on how to […]
Listen NowOctober 31, 2025
Short Circuit 400 | Is Sharing Your Password a Federal Crime?
If you think you’ve worked in a bad job you might want to first hear the first case we have this week, brought to you […]
Listen NowJuly 02, 2025
Unpublished Opinions 16 | Rings of a Hoary Oak Tree
A new edition of everyone’s favorite legal grimoire has dropped, and John Wrench convenes Sam Gedge and Diana Simpson to ask the hard questions: Is […]
Listen Now