Institute For Justice And Public Interest Law
By Bob Small
Yet another group we learned about at the Bill of Rights Banquet was The Institute for Justice which describes itself as “ a nonprofit, public interest law firm. Our mission is to end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams”
So far, they have won 10 of their 12 cases at the Supreme Court and “returned $21 million in wrongfully seized assets”, among other victories.
The Institute can be traced to 1992 Chip Mellor’s Enduring Legacy of Liberty as a civil law firm “to protect the constitutional rights of ordinary Americans”.
Cases in which it was involved included i The FBI wrongly raided this family’s home, which involved an Atlanta family by an FBI SWAT raid on the wrong Atlanta house and the subsequent refusal of the FBI to reimburse for expenses; an issue of “civil forfeiture” in which Nevada Court Shuts Down Police Use of Federal Loophole
The case meant “Law enforcement hadno business profiting from civil forfeiture,” said IJ Attorney Brian Morris. “ See also Court shuts down highway patrol’s civil asset forfeiture …
Source Watch, in their evaluation of IJ, Institute for Justice – SourceWatch mentions that PFAW (People for thr American Way) , a Progressive organization, has described IJ as a “one of the litigation groups that has “eagerly sought out potential court challenges in lower-income urban communities” and has loudly claimed “the mantle of supporters of education for the disadvantaged.” Whether Charles Koch, who provided seed money for IJ, would regard this favorably, is a moot point.
Influence watch has a similar article Institute for Justice – InfluenceWatch mentions their cases on free speech and qualified immunity etc.
In Pennsylvania, see Nazareth Man Sues Borough Over Law Criminalizing ‘For Sale’
To summarize, IJ may be claimed by both the Left and the Right depending on the case.
Maybe these Left/Right divisions are blurring. Any thoughts?
Institute For Justice And Public Interest Law
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