The Institute for Justice litigates to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. IJ defends ordinary people who want to earn an honest living, own and enjoy their property, speak freely, and give their children a good education but find that the government is standing in their way.
We fight to hold government officials accountable when they violate constitutional rights and to prevent governments at all levels from bending the rules to expand their power or advance illegitimate ends.
IJ wins three out of four cases through outright courtroom victories or legislative change prompted by our lawsuits.
Featured Cases
Economic Liberty | Fresh Start
Texas Fresh Start Social Worker
Texas
Texas—and the country—face a two-fold problem: an exploding mental health and substance abuse crisis and a dire shortage of professional social workers to address those issues. Yet rather than make it easier for qualified applicants to obtain social work licenses and start helping people, Texas is doing the opposite. In 2019, the state passed a lifetime ban prohibiting anyone with…
4th Amendment Project | Private Property
Norfolk, VA Camera Surveillance
Norfolk, Virginia has installed more than 170 cameras across the city that watch drivers’ every movement. Now, two Norfolk-area residents have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal lawsuit challenging the…
Private Property | Private Solutions to Public Problems | Right to Shelter | Zoning Justice Project
Flathead Warming Center
The Flathead Warming Center—an emergency shelter in Kalispell, Montana—suffered a cruel blow as winter approaches. On September 16, 2024, the Kalispell City Council voted 6-3 to revoke the Warming Center’s permit, even though it has…
Private Property | SWAT Destruction
Martin v. United States
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.
Economic Liberty | Food Freedom | Private Property
Texas Craft Beer
A Texas law is forcing craft brewers to give up millions of dollars of valuable property to politically connected beer distributors.
Commercial Speech | First Amendment | Food Freedom
Florida Skim Milk
Ocheesee Creamery is censored from honestly labeling its skim milk as skim milk.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Occupational Licensing | Occupational Speech | Tour Guides
Savannah Tour Guides
Tour guides are storytellers, and the government can’t be in the business of deciding who is (or who is not) allowed to tell stories.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Long Island Forfeiture
The Hirsch brothers have done nothing wrong, yet the IRS seized their entire bank account.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Iowa Forfeiture
The IRS seized Carole’s money using civil forfeiture, which allows law enforcement agencies to take cash, cars and other property without so much as charging the property owner with a crime.
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing | Transportation
Milwaukee Taxis 2
In response to an IJ lawsuit, Milwaukee lifted its cap on the number of taxis. But the city’s powerful taxi cartel sued to block this reform. Now two cab drivers have again joined with IJ…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Philadelphia Forfeiture
Police and prosecutors use civil forfeiture to strip thousands of Americans of their rights and property. Nowhere is the problem more rampant than in Philadelphia.
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Washington Hair Braiding 2
Almost a decade after IJ successfully sued Washington state over its irrational hair braiding laws, officials once again tried to force natural hair braiders to become licensed cosmetologists.
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Missouri Hair Braiding
If you want to braid hair for a living in Missouri, you must spend thousands of dollars on at least 1,500 hours of cosmetology training that teaches you nothing about African-style hair braiding.
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Arkansas Hair Braiding
Hair braiding is a simple and safe practice that the government has no business regulating. But in Arkansas, braiders may not sell their services unless they complete 1,500 hours of government-mandated cosmetology training, not one…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Arkansas Dentistry
Arkansas flat-out bans licensed dental specialists, like orthodontists, from doing even simple dental work outside of their specialty.