Institute for Justice

Constitutional rights should never depend on an individual's ability to pay. That's why, at IJ, we never charge our clients a dime. ❤️ Join our fight for freedom and justice today at ij.org/support/give-n… #GivingTuesday

Today @Ij won a case that has major ramifications for anyone thrown in jail for filming police officers or other law enforcement agents. Last night a federal judge ruled that Fort Bend County, Tx. officers violated independent journalist Justin Pulliam’s rights when they arrested him for recording police activity. ij.org/press-release/…

This legislation would give a clearer path for police abuse victims like IJ client Hamdi Mohamud to be made whole again in civil court. @JusticeActionUS reason.com/2026/03/27/min…

I wrote about @IJ's big win on behalf of an independent journalist who was wrongly arrested while trying to report news.

🚨1st Amendment victory!🚨 Yesterday, a federal judge ruled Fort Bend County police violated the First Amendment when they arrested @IJ client/independent journalist Justin Pulliam for filming a police welfare check. ij.org/press-release/…

Read more about this important legal victory here: ij.org/press-release/…

“I was one man with a camera filming the precise actions of the police,” said Pulliam who covers police activity and local politics on his YouTube Channel Corruption Report. “If the police have nothing to hide, it shouldn’t have been a big deal; however, they went to extreme lengths to stop my reporting.”

VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH! Yesterday afternoon, a U.S. District Court handed a big win to independent journalist Justin Pulliam after a trial last summer. 🧵

Before dawn one morning, a flashbang grenade exploded inside Trina Martin’s home. Armed FBI agents stormed in, handcuffed her boyfriend, and terrified her 7-year-old son—only to realize they had raided the wrong house. You may remember our recent win at the Supreme Court in Martin v. United States, where the Court ruled in June 2025 that the Martins’ fight for justice can continue. Yesterday, we were back in the appeals court, continuing to fight for the Martins and to demand accountability.

Pennsylvania has a loophole that lets certain officers walk onto private land without a warrant—as long as they say they’re checking for a fishing violation. This happened twice to one family. So we filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law which permits warrantless trespassing by 'fish cops'. Read more here: ij.org/case/pennsylva…

She taught backyard swim lessons. One complaint shut them down. Local governments should encourage home businesses instead of making them illegal. @ij @washingtonpost

"For 7 years, Libby Souder taught private swim lessons to children at her home in Columbia, South Carolina. This spring, she would normally start teaching... but there will be no lessons in her backyard this year after the city shut her down for violating an obscure and long-ignored provision of its zoning code." -@GrimHogun washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…

Take a listen to the most recent episode of Unpublished Opinions, @IJ's roundtable podcast featuring @DianaKSimpson, @pjaicomo, late-breaking takes on Olivier v. City of Brandon, @ogafroman, lemon pound cake, and Korean spas... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unp…

Like prior editions, this report grades all state and federal forfeiture laws. Find out if your state makes the grade here: #state-grades" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">ij.org/report/policin…

Forfeiture is big business. Since 2000, governments nationwide have forfeited at least $82 billion nationwide since 2000. Today, IJ released a new edition of the landmark of civil forfeiture study #PolicingForProfit, which shines a light on an additional problem with #forfeiture that has attracted concern from the U.S. Supreme Court: A worrying lack of due process. ij.org/press-release/…

Each year, law enforcement nationwide uses #CivilForfeiture to take property (cash, cars, and even homes) from people, often without ever proving anyone did anything wrong. Now IJ’s newest edition of ‘Policing for Profit’ shows that #forfeiture is a massive problem with major due process concerns. 🧵

BREAKING: @IJ has just published the FOURTH edition of our landmark #PolicingForProfit report on #CivilForfeiture nationwide, with updated state grades & stats. Highlights (lowlights?): ➢Since 2000, governments nationwide have #forfeited at least $82 billion worth of property, with more than $57 billion collected by the feds & ~$25 billion collected by state and local gov'ts ➢In 2023 alone, 45 states collected nearly $300 million in #forfeiture revenue, on top of $4.5 billion at the federal level ➢The median #cash forfeiture in 24 states with data is just $1,678, while our (conservative) estimate of cost to litigate a straightforward state forfeiture case is $3,300 ➢The median forfeiture process takes more than SIX MONTHS on paper just to reach a courtroom. In practice, cases frequently take far longer. ➢Most civil forfeiture cases end in default & never see a judge. ➢Federally, administrative (non-judicial) forfeiture predominates. 71% of DOJ forfeitures were forfeited administratively by the seizing agency (and not even by a "neutral" admin. judge, but typically by the agency's self-interested Office of Forfeiture Counsel) More info in press release: ij.org/press-release/… New report available here: ij.org/report/policin…