A class action lawsuit claims Indianapolis law enforcement is using civil asset forfeiture to seize millions in cash from packages routed through a major FedEx hub, without notifying the owners of what crime they're suspected of committing.
The DEA paid one airline employee tens of thousands of dollars to snoop on travel itineraries and flag passengers for searches.
A board employee and a local reporter were arrested on the same bogus charge of divulging nonexistent grand jury secrets.
The Institute for Justice partners with an independent eye doctor to challenge state regulations that protect hospital monopolies and restrict patient access.
For more than three decades, the Institute for Justice has shown that economic freedom and private property are essential safeguards for ordinary Americans.
Americans are turning to home-cooked meals, but state regulators are making it harder for small food businesses to survive.
Mason Murphy says Officer Michael Schmitt violated his rights by punishing him for constitutionally protected speech.
Since when do government officials get to decide that a market is “oversaturated”?
The Institute for Justice says Indianapolis police and prosecutors are exploiting one of the biggest FedEx hubs in the U.S. to seize cash for alleged crimes they never explain.
Thus far, the courts have barred Curtrina Martin from asking a jury for damages. She is appealing to the Supreme Court.
The ruling is the second recent court decision that has curbed Detroit's aggressive vehicle forfeiture program.
The justices ruled that "objective evidence" of retaliation does not require "very specific comparator evidence."
An ideologically diverse mix of individuals and organizations supports a Texas journalist who was arrested for asking questions.
The Institute for Justice has launched a project to reform land use regulation.
The cars of two Alabama women were seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners. The Supreme Court says they had no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing.
Sandy Martinez faces that bill because of driveway cracks, a storm-damaged fence, and cars parked on her own property that illegally touched her lawn.
"Mayors should not be allowed to launder animus through warrants," the former city council member's lawyer told the justices.
The Institute for Justice says its data show that a century-old Supreme Court doctrine created a huge exception to the Fourth Amendment.
An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."
"It's crazy to me that somebody can be pulled over and have their cash and truck taken for an alleged crime, get acquitted of that crime, but they still never get their property back," Stitt said.
The verdict vindicates the constitutional rights that Louisiana sheriff's deputies flagrantly violated when they hauled Waylon Bailey off to jail.
The appeals court dismissed a civil rights lawsuit by a Laredo gadfly who was arrested for asking questions.
Ralph Petty's "conflicted dual-hat arrangement" as an advocate and an adjudicator was "utterly bonkers," Judge Don Willett notes.
Without a prompt post-seizure hearing, people can lose their property for months or years even when they ultimately get it back.
School officials in three states are effectively immune from lawsuits over excessive corporal punishment. A Louisiana mother is asking the Supreme Court to step in.
Sylvia Gonzalez, an anti-establishment politician, spent a day in jail for allegedly concealing a petition that she organized.
"Ironically, the actions of the police department have only proven my point," Noah Petersen said after being handcuffed, arrested, and jailed for his speech.
Mississippi only gives property owners 10 days to challenge a blight finding that could lead to their house being seized through eminent domain.
An officer conducted the search of Prentiss Jackson's vehicle after claiming he could smell "a little bit of weed." It ultimately resulted in a lengthy prison term.
A federal circuit judge writes that Detroit's vehicle seizure scheme "is simply a money-making venture—one most often used to extort money from those who can least afford it."
The appeals court ruled that a Facebook post alluding to World War Z was clearly protected by the First Amendment.
Cristal Starling lost $8,000 after she missed one of several filing deadlines to contest the seizure of her money by police. A federal appeals court says she and others like her should be given more leeway.
Even if background check applicants are guilty of wrongdoing, imposing lifetime bans on gainful employment is not a good policy.
The 11th Circuit rejected Sosa's constitutional claims, and he is asking the Supreme Court to intervene.
The FAIR Act includes several substantial reforms that would make it harder to take property from innocent owners through civil forfeiture.
The lawsuit looks iffy in light of the Supreme Court's "open fields" doctrine.
Police detectives accused Jerry Johnson of being a drug trafficker and seized cash he says he intended to use to buy a semitruck at auction. He was never charged with a crime.
The Institute for Justice says Robert Reeves' First Amendment rights were violated when prosecutors filed and refiled baseless felony charges against him after he sued to get his car back.
One guy with gambling debts is a news story, but a formal policy of legalized theft is a national scandal.
A $2.1 million penalty for failing to file a form on time reveals the agency’s true nature.
Should an elderly grandmother be forced to hand over millions of dollars to the government for failing to file a particular form?
Multiple factors contribute to housing shortages, but zoning constraints are mostly to blame.
Zion’s attempts to push out unwanted renters collides with Fourth Amendment protections.
Even in cases that hinged on the trustworthiness of demonstrably untrustworthy cops, people are still waiting to get their money back.
The Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Timbs v. Indiana revived the Excessive Fines Clause. Now state courts have to come up with tests to determine what's excessive.
The two fake news organizations want the Supreme Court to review the case of a man who was arrested for making fun of the police.
The Institute for Justice argues evidence from warrantless searches can’t be used for zoning enforcement.
A First Amendment case prompts The Onion to explain how parody works.
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