The Institute for Justice

Time 2020-09-26 18:04:27

Web Name: The Institute for Justice

WebSite: http://ij.org

ID:60711

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Institute,The,Justice,

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Anthony Sanders | Center for Judicial Engagement | September 22, 2020 Earlier this month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld Florida’s slap-dash system of forcing convicted felons to pay outstanding fines and fees before being allowed to vote. The full court voted 6 to 4 that despite many problems, Florida could continue denying voting rights to tens of thousands of former felons Andrew Wimer | Press Release | September 22, 2020 CHICAGO—Small businesses across the South Side of Chicago are finding creative solutions to confront the economic challenges of 2020. For a seventh year running, the South Side Pitch business competition will highlight inspirational individuals determined to improve their lives and their community. However, unlike the past, this year the competition will focus on existing small J. Justin Wilson | Press Release | September 18, 2020 Wilmington, N.C.—Wilmington’s vacation rental owners will have to wait a little longer to celebrate their right to rent their home. Following a decisive win on Tuesday, yesterday the city announced it would appeal the decision and asked the court to suspend enforcement of the order until the appeals process is complete. The city argued that Andrew Wimer | Press Release | September 18, 2020 Arlington, Va.—Police officers swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution, but can they be held accountable when they blatantly violate that oath? The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will soon consider whether a citizen-journalist in Texas can seek justice after a retaliatory arrest and prosecution. The Institute for Justice (IJ), as part of its recently J. Justin Wilson | Press Release | September 16, 2020 IJ Will Appeal Texas Border Forfeiture Case to U.S. Supreme Court Case argues that police cannot seize cars indefinitely without giving owners an opportunity to plead their case in front of a judge Today, a federal appeals court ruled that law enforcement agencies can seize and keep Americans’ cars indefinitely without giving the owners an opportunity to plead their case in front of a judge. The decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is a blow to the constitutional rights of car-owners in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, J. Justin Wilson | Press Release | September 16, 2020 Wilmington, N.C.—Today, North Carolina Superior Court Judge Richard K. Harrell ruled that Wilmington’s vacation rental law violates a North Carolina statewide law prohibiting municipalities from requiring rental permits. The decision is a win for Peg and David Schroeder, who filed the lawsuit challenging Wilmington’s ordinance imposing a 2% overall cap on vacation-rental properties and requiring Andrew Wimer | Press Release | September 16, 2020 OKLAHOMA CITY—All of the food Upton’s Naturals sells is proudly labeled as “100% vegan.” Even though it is already obvious that Upton’s Natural’s foods do not contain meat, a new law in Oklahoma demands that the company include a disclaimer on its label as large and prominent as the product’s name stating that the food School choice is simply the idea that all parents, regardless of means, should enjoy the freedom to choose what schools their children attend. more on this issue » The right to earn a living in the occupation of your choice without unnecessary government interference is at the heart of the American Dream. more on this issue » We seek to defend the free flow of information—information that is indispensable to our democratic form of government and to our free enterprise economy. more on this issue » Respecting the right of private property is essential to a just and prosperous society. But government at all levels—local, state and federal—routinely infringe on these rights. more on this issue » The National Law Firm for Liberty Support the Institute for Justice with a tax-deductible contribution today. Jetway Robbery? Homeland Security and Cash Seizures at Airports Linda Cameron has been living in the same Richland, Washington home for nearly 40 years. After consulting with a builder, Linda decided to turn her outdated carport into a garage and add a second bedroom and bathroom. But Richland won t give her a building permit unless she pays over $60,000 in impact fees. Mary is a certified lactation consultation with nearly three decades of experience, including teaching at Emory and Morehouse. But thanks to a new license in Georgia, Mary can no longer work in her current position helping women and children with hands-on breastfeeding advice. Courtney wanted to become an esthetician so she could earn extra income and have flexible hours to spend with her son. But the state cosmetology board denied Courtney a license because of her criminal record, which has nothing to do with cosmetology. Ash Patel moved to Texas from India to pursue his American Dream of opening up an eyebrow threading salon. But in 2009, Texas demanded that eyebrow threaders obtain an expensive cosmetology license—even though beauty schools teach absolutely nothing about eyebrow threading. Ash shut down his successful business to avoid paying $2,000 in fines. He teamed up with the Institute for Justice to vindicate his rights. Six years later, IJ scored one of its most important economic liberty victories when the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state had violated the Texas Constitution by ordering threaders to obtain 750 hours of conventional cosmetology training. Threaders all over Texas are now free to work without having to obtain a government-issued license. In 2011, police raided Jameelah El-Shabazz’s apartment in New York City and found several cups filled with crushed eggshells, which Jameelah uses for religious purposes. Believing the cups were filled with drugs, police arrested Jameelah and her son Akin and held them in jail for a week. They also had her apartment closed . City attorneys, relying on those same discredited allegations about the cups of crushed eggshells, claimed the apartment had been the site of drug crimes, and had her apartment closed under the city’s no-fault eviction ordinance. Unable to fight back in court, Jameelah had to agree to permanently bar her son from her home in order to regain access to her own apartment. Matthew Bentley, Joseph Briere and Wesley Williams Bentley, Williams, and Briere live with their three roommates in Northwest Seattle and objected to the city s warrantless rental inspection. Sung Cho owns and operates Super Laundromat and Drycleaners, one of the largest laundromats in Manhattan.  Sung could be evicted, and his business closed, simply because his business was the site of a crime. The identity of the criminals was beside the point. SurfVive is a local non-profit whose mission is “to sow love through surfing, food, and all forms of art.” Gary and Michelle Erb The bluffs overlooking the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County, have for centuries been “a region noted for the grandeur and beauty of its landscape scenery.” Those same qualities attracted Gary and Michelle Erb in 2008. The Erbs purchased a 72-acre tract of land, about a mile east of the Susquehanna, and built their dream home. For more than 30 years, Hinga Mbogo has been fixing the cars of Dallas residents at his shop on Ross Avenue. But the city is trying to shut him down by using an oppressive and little-known zoning process called “amortization.” Carter Walker is a reporter covering the county government for the Lancaster, Pennsylvania newspaper. To shine a light on forfeiture spending by the Lancaster County DA, he filed a request, which was denied. Carter appealed to Pennsylvania s Office of Open Records and won, but now the DA is fighting in court to keep this information secret. Aaron and Monica Cannon Aaron and Monica Cannon run A M’s Red Food Truck. They met in San Diego while serving in the military and cultivated a deep appreciation for good tacos. Dottie and Omar Rivera are Steve Camburn’s tenants. They have lived in Pottstown their entire lives and have rented their home from Steve for the last five years. Dr. Kristin Held is an ophthalmologist and board-certified surgeon with over three decades of experience who works as a solo practitioner at Stone Oak Ophthalmology Center in San Antonio, Texas. She wants to dispense routine medications to her own patients, but can t, under a protectionist Texas law. Mary Lou Wesselhoeft and her husband Paul Wesselhoeft own Ocheesee Creamery, a small creamery in the Florida Panhandle. Because of the all-natural dairy philosophy that Mary Lou follows, she added nothing to the creamery’s skim milk. But a state agency  wants her to use a confusing and misleading label that labels the milk something it is not: “Non-Grade ‘A’ Milk Product, Natural Milk Vitamins Removed.” Elijah “Lij” Shaw is a single father and lifelong record producer and recorded nationally renowned, Grammy Award-winning performers like Adele, John Oates, Jack White and Wilco. After his daughter was born, Lij decided to convert his garage into a soundproofed recording studio, which he used without any complaints for over a decade. But now Nashville is threatening to destroy Lij’s investment and uproot him from his neighborhood. Dan Staackmann is the founder and president of Upton’s Naturals, an independently-owned, ethical vegan food company based in Chicago. Mississippi’s ban on using veggie burgers and other meat terms in their labeling will have a devastating effect on companies like Upton’s Naturals. Robin Farris beat Washington state’s Public Disclosure Commission with IJ’s help. She fought for the right to sue the government to protect our constitutional rights. After being in prison for two years, when Amanda got out, she became passionate about cosmetology and even got a job offer at a salon before she finished school. But the state board denied her a cosmetology license, claiming she lacked “good moral character.” Kendra desperately wanted to send her children to Stillwater, but knew she could not afford the tuition on her salary. So she started working to raise tuition funds. She held two yard sales and auctioned off handmade quilts made by a generous donor. She also found additional work cleaning houses. Adding to the extra funds, Stillwater provided the family with partial financial aid, and the girls began school there in September 2015. Robert and Dorice Pierce Robert and Dorice Pierce have rented from Josefina Lozano since June 2000 and are now fighting against rental inspections in Zion, Illinois. Panna Shah came to the United States from India in 2006 in search of a better life. She has been threading for more than 30 years but would be unable to thread full-time because she can’t afford to complete Louisiana s irrelevant training requirements. Randy Sowers has run a dairy farm in Frederick County, Md. since 1981. But in 2012, the IRS seized the farm’s bank account because the Sowers deposited the cash in amounts under $10,000. Nevada is trying to force makeup artistry instructors, like IJ client Lissette Waugh, to get a license they don’t need. IJ clients Keith Westphal and Joyce Osborn Wilson are banned from offering Alabamians a comfortable and clean place to use the prepackaged, teeth-whitening products they sell to customers. Arizona wants to bar people from joining together to protest local ballot measures without first registering with the government. Ilumi has worked with children since she came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in 1995. Although she has a Child Development Associate credential (“CDA”) and was trained as a lawyer in her home country, Ilumi does not have the associate’s degree now required under District of Columbia’s new regulations. Shelia Champion lives in Hazel Green, Alabama and operates a cemetery, The Good Earth Burial Ground. Scott Fisher and Gone Broke Gaming Scott Fisher runs a video game store in Orange Park, Florida, just outside Jacksonville. To boost foot traffic and visibility for his business, he set up a giant inflatable Mario, only to run afoul of the town s sign code. Scott has joined with the Institute for Justice to defend his First Amendment rights. Brian Berube, owner of the Lonesome Dove saloon in Mandan, North Dakota, started his business with August Augie Kersten 28 years ago. The two commissioned a mural, which the city wants to take down. Janice received a $215 fine for “failure to obey traffic signs or control” in Doraville, Georgia. If she can,  Janice now goes out of her way to avoid Doraville. From satellites in space to circuits for flashlights, Greg Mills has spent his entire career working as an engineer designing and building electronics. But early in 2019, a group of industry insiders sitting on a government board abruptly put Greg’s career on ice. Korver Ear Nose and Throat LLC Korver Ear Nose and Throat LLC owns a recently constructed medical facility in Orange City, Iowa. It would like to convert the lower level of this facility into an outpatient surgery center, but does not want to incur the enormous time, expense, and uncertainty of going through the certificate of need process, only to be denied because of its competitor’s opposition. The Cristofaros were plaintiffs in the infamous Kelo v. New London lawsuit, when the city tried to take their house again. Since the ruling, Mike has become a national spokesperson for property owners fighting eminent domain abuse. Dr. Carol Bridges is a family doctor with over 20 years of experience. She runs Cost Care, a primary and emergency care practice in Missoula. IJ client Celeste Kelly spent hundreds of hours learning about horses in order to obtain private certifications in animal massage. But now the state of Arizona is forcing her to become a licensed veterinarian to continue practicing her craft. Soon after Terry and Ria’s car was seized, they found themselves lost in Arizona’s forfeiture maze. After completing his military service as an Army Ranger, Jon McGlothian of Virginia Beach, Va., became a PMP-certified project manager. But Jon can’t advertise to the public or take on individual students because his school isn’t licensed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Lisa Kivirist is a mother, farmer, business owner and avid baker. Lisa typically serves muffins and other baked goods at her B B for breakfast, but the baked-good ban prohibits her from selling these same exact goods to guests. Tracy is an experienced sewer who teaches students how to sew as a hobby, but under Virginia law, she’s not allowed to teach students how to earn a living with sewing. Susette is the Kelo in Kelo v. New London. She led her neighbors in a seven-year battle to save their homes from being taken by the government for private development, culminating in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005. Tour guides are storytellers, and the government can’t be in the business of deciding who is (or who is not) allowed to tell stories. Russ Caswell and his family have owned and operated the Motel Caswell in Tewksbury, Mass., for two generations. The Caswells nearly had their property taken from them by local and federal law enforcement officials through a process known as civil forfeiture. Institute for Justice 2020 IJ® is a registered trademark of the Institute for Justice.Privacy PolicyLast modified: January 1, 2020

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