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Institute for Justice updates
First Amendment Retaliation
Motor City Madness: County’s Illegal Campaign to Silence an IJ Client
Four years ago, Robert Reeves’ car was seized by police in Detroit using civil forfeiture. Although he was never charged with a crime, police attempted to use civil forfeiture to seize and keep Robert’s 1991 Camaro. Robert knew what happened to him was wrong, and, in 2020, he partnered with the Institute for Justice to file a federal class action lawsuit to put an end to Wayne County’s unconstitutional policing-for-profit practice of seizing cars from innocent motorists. Within two weeks of filing suit, Wayne County prosecutors began to wage a war of retribution against Robert. Now, Robert and IJ are fighting back with a second suit.
Last year, journalists exposed a system of towing cars and issuing traffic citations not for public safety, but for the financial gain of government in Brookside, Alabama. IJ stepped in the end this abuse, and a court has ruled our class action lawsuit can move forward.
How Americans Embraced Unenumerated Rights and Why It Matters
IJ is excited to announce the release of a new book that explores how Americans protect rights beyond those enumerated in our constitutions—learn how you can read it for free.
Every week, IJ and our work makes headlines in large and small publications across the country. Check out some of this recent (non-paywalled) positive press here:
June 4, 2023 marks 100 years since the Supreme Court's opinion in Meyer v. Nebraska, where the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for states to forbid the teaching of foreign languages. IJ marked it with a conference; here's the keynote address.
Short Circuit: Short Circuit: All Constitutional Law is Procedural Nonsense
Live from IJ’s annual Law Student Conference, we dig into IJ's appellate court win against a Memphis blight court and a police raid gone horribly wrong in Texas.
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