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IJ just scored a win at a Pennsylvania appeals court that puts renters’ privacy rights on the same level as owners’ for the first time anywhere in the country. It was a wild ride featuring a violated court order, a stake out of a judge’s car, and obstruction designed to keep the inspection program a secret. It is also part of decades-long campaign to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court precedent that lets the government enter renters’ homes without a real warrant or suspicion of wrongdoing.  https://youtu.be/BjztA-fIvXg Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

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 themselves as U.S. citizens, multiple agents aggressively detained them—in Leo’s case two separate times and in George’s case for three days. Now, as more citizens get swept up in these raids, Leo and George are standing up for their rights with IJ.  We’re here with IJ attorneys Jared McClain and Jaba Tsitsuashvili to discuss how current immigration raids are enabling warrantless government trespassing, arrests without probable cause, and other abuses of the Constitution.  To be clear, these cases aren’t about whether the government can enforce immigration laws.  They’re about whether or not the government has to follow the Constitution, federal law, and its own regulations when it does.  https://youtu.be/BhFx47qLx7A Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

Brian Moore and Cristal Starling both lost their money to civil forfeiture, despite neither being charged with a crime. Both of them challenged those forfeitures and both of them got their money back. But only one is being made whole. We’re here with IJ senior attorneys Dan Alban and Paul Sherman to discuss two cases under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act---a law that’s supposed to protect innocent victims of wrongful forfeitures, and why it doesn’t go far enough. https://youtu.be/_NJOTMszsJI Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

When Khalilah Few wanted to expand her natural hair salon business, she found a long-empty store front in Clayton County, Georgia, and spent her life savings renovating it. But she soon discovered that Clayton County singles out hair salons and barbershops for special restrictions. Because there are three other salons within several miles, the county told Khaliah she couldn’t open.    Today we talk with IJ senior attorneys Renée Flaherty and Will Aronin to discuss how Georgia protects the right to earn an honest living and how IJ will make sure Khalilah and other entrepreneurs can open for business.  https://youtu.be/5kN_buJhpvY Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

When you get in your car, you might be tracked by a network of AI-powered surveillance cameras. These cameras upload their information to a central database, where government officials around the country can see a detailed record of your movements.  But we're fighting back against mass surveillance. Today we’re joined by IJ attorney Michael Soyfer and Communications Project Manager Dan King to discuss IJ’s new Plate Privacy Project and how everyday people are opposing this new threat to our constitutional rights.  https://youtu.be/4xU5AhwarSs Plate Privacy Project Our attorneys are experts on the Fourth Amendment and on how citizens can use it to fight back against government abuse of automatic license plate reader cameras.  learn more

When the government, or even a private company, takes your land using eminent domain, the law promises you just compensation. But what about the thousands of dollars you spent on legal fees fighting for your fair share? For a group of North Dakotans facing off against a natural gas company, the answer could be: Tough luck.  Today we're joined by IJ Deputy Litigation Director Bob McNamara, and IJ attorney Matt Liles.  We’ll discuss what just compensation really means, how the government lets private companies abuse eminent domain, and what IJ is doing to stop it.  https://youtu.be/R7m8MdZD5KM Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

Can the government take a $95,000 plane because a passenger used it to transport a six pack of Budweiser? The Alaska Supreme Court says yes but the U.S. Constitution says no.  Today we chat with IJ attorneys Sam Gedge and Kirby West to discuss an outrageous new case from the Last Frontier and how forfeiture interacts with excessive fines, free speech, and more.  https://youtu.be/KL3UlAt2XSk Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

In this episode, we bring you the disturbing story of St. Paul police officer Heather Weyker, whose lies led to the wrongful prosecution of dozens of people—and put an innocent teenage refugee in jail for two years. Will she ever be held accountable?  Today we’re joined by  IJ senior attorney Patrick Jaicomo, one of the leaders of IJ's Project on Immunity and Accountability.  We’re discussing Patrick’s lawsuit against Officer Weyker, how courts have systematically closed doors to government accountability, and how IJ is trying to wrench those doors back open.  https://youtu.be/rf_NetF2l9k Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now related video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HujPlUyTXRY

Dalton Boley thought he found a refuge for him and his children in 10 acres of woods by his Alabama home. That is, until government officials started showing up on the land without a warrant.I'm Kim Norberg of the nonprofit civil liberties law firm the Institute for Justice, joined by co-host Keith Neely, and today we’re discussing the Open Fields Doctrine and what IJ is doing to close this 4th Amendment loophole. We’re joined by IJ attorney Josh Windham. https://youtu.be/tyeF77uNjW0 Related Videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je8mOkgMoWk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcnL6gF_ua4 Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

You shouldn’t need a law degree to start a barber shop, but entrepreneurs across the country face steep fees, delays, and confusing requirements before they ever even open. That’s why, in addition to suing cities when they violate people’s rights, IJ works with cities to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a small business.  Today we’re joined by Assistant Director of IJ’s Activism Team Jennifer McDonald, and Senior Policy Advisor Chad Reese to discuss how IJ makes Cities Work. https://youtu.be/IYN4RCN-yo8 Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

The Constitution requires a warrant before police can search you or your property. But what if that warrant is based on third-hand information? That’s what happened to IJ client Michael Mendenhall, and it happens across America every day.  We recently spoke with IJ attorneys Patrick Jaicomo and Jared McClain to discuss how warrants are often just rubber stamps, and what IJ is doing to fix that.  https://youtu.be/0hTQIAsDHX0 Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

A new financial surveillance dragnet is sweeping up ordinary cash transactions at small businesses near the US-Mexico border. The federal government has placed onerous new requirements on businesses that help people without bank accounts cash checks or send money to family members. It’s demanding reports on all transactions involving at least $200 in cash, subjecting innocent people to warrantless surveillance and burying small businesses in paperwork.  Today we chat with IJ attorneys Rob Johnson and Betsy Sanz to talk about how IJ is fighting back against financial surveillance and the government’s war on cash.  https://youtu.be/MGPC27FIrqE Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

You might think constitutional lawsuits work like this: Find an unconstitutional law, challenge it in court, and if the law is truly unconstitutional, the court will strike it down. But in reality, a web of legal doctrines and ingrained attitudes mean judges have enormous leeway to avoid ruling against the government.  On this episode, we talk with IJ attorneys Josh Windham and John Wrench on judicial deference and why courts protect some rights better than others.  https://youtu.be/AwAFcSzqZ4A Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

In 2017, FBI agents, with guns drawn and a flashbang grenade, burst into the Atlanta home of Trina Martin, her then seven-year-old son Gabe, and her then partner Toi. Turns out, they had the wrong address. In April, Trina’s yearslong fight for accountability is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Today we chat with IJ client Trina Martin and IJ attorney Patrick Jaicomo about wrong house raids, what it’s like have the Supreme Court hear your case, and what victory will mean for Trina and all Americans.  https://youtu.be/j2GboGENmoQ Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. donate monthly

First enacted to ensure southern states respected the rights of newly freed slaves, the 14th Amendment is indispensable to modern civil rights litigation. But what does the amendment say and how does IJ use it to challenge everything from harassment by police to undue burdens on hair braiders?  Today we’ll discuss all that and more with IJ attorneys Bob McNamara and John Wrench. https://youtu.be/xPPU9ZKWd0Q Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now