Scott interviews Patrick Jaicomo of the Institute for Justice about the case of José Oliva, a Vietnam veteran who was assaulted by police officers at a VA hospital in 2016. Because of doctrines like qualified immunity, it has taken years just to reach the point where...
Institute for Justice
Supreme Court Refuses To Reconsider Its Doctrine of ‘Qualified Immunity’ for Police
The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to hear eight separate cases that had presented opportunities to reconsider its doctrine of “qualified immunity.” That doctrine, created by the Supreme Court in 1982, holds that government officials can be held accountable for...
US Supreme Court Will Hear Police Accountability Case
Arlington, Virginia—This morning the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would review the case of James King, an innocent college student who was savagely beaten in 2014 by a police officer and FBI agent in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after being unreasonably misidentified as...
3/27/20 Patrick Jaicomo on Our Unaccountable Overlords
Patrick Jaicomo of the Institute for Justice discusses the (brief) history of the "qualified immunity" doctrine, which makes it very difficult for civilians to sue government agents for constitutional rights violations. Jaicomo breaks down the different types of legal...
9th. Circuit Ferry Fight Has Potential To Free Up Entrepreneurs
Pasadena, Calif.—On Monday, March 30, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider a case in which two entrepreneurs have spent 23 years trying to travel 55 miles by boat—and they have yet to reach their destination. Read the full article at the Institute for...
Police Stole $225K in Cash and Coins, and the Court Said “Okay”
Arlington, Va.—Seven years ago, police officers in Fresno, California, executed search warrants on the homes and business of Micah Jessop and Brittan Ashjian, who owned a business operating and servicing ATMs. Police were investigating a report of illegal gambling....
Following Federal Lawsuit, Richland, Wa. Drops Unconstitutional Street-Fees Law
Following a federal lawsuit brought by the Institute for Justice, the City of Richland has ended its practice of unconstitutionally forcing homeowners to upgrade city streets as a condition of obtaining a building permit. As a result of that change, Linda Cameron is...
New Jersey Assembly Passes Transparency Bill For Police Seizures
The New Jersey Assembly unanimously passed a bill late Monday that would shine a light on “civil forfeiture,” which lets law enforcement seize property without ever charging the owner with a crime. In New Jersey, once property is forfeited, the government can then...
Homeowners Seek Rehearing in House-Destruction Case
Arlington, Va.—If the government needs to destroy your home to build a freeway or a school, the Constitution entitles you to just compensation. But what if the government needs to destroy your home for some other reason—say, to capture a fugitive who has randomly...
North Carolina Surgeon Wins First Round in Fight to Eliminate State-enforced Medical Monopoly
Today, a state superior court judge denied the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ motion to dismiss a constitutional challenge to a law that bans medical providers from purchasing an MRI scanner without first obtaining special permission—called a...
Save the Pearl: New Group Formed to Oppose Tulsa Development Authority’s Eminent Domain Plans
A community in Tulsa joins together to stop city officials from following through with plans to tear down homes for “urban renewal” Tulsa, Okla.—Today, residents and supporters of Tulsa’s Pearl District announced the formation of a new group, Save the Pearl Coalition....
New Report Nations Largest Forfeiture Program Fails To Fight Crime
A new Institute for Justice study (PDF) finds the nation’s largest forfeiture program does not help police fight crime. Instead, the study indicates police use forfeiture to boost revenue—in other words, to police for profit. The IJ study, “Fighting Crime or Raising...
Virginia Couple Sues to Protect Their First Amendment Right to Teach
In Virginia, you can teach anyone anything—except how to earn an honest living. That’s the lesson Jon and Tracy McGlothian learned when they tried to open a school to teach job skills to adults in their Virginia Beach community. Yet the State Council of Higher...
TSA and Border Patrol stole his life savings but never charged him with a crime
His American dream was helping his family in Albania. It ended when he walked through security at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. A U.S. citizen for more than a decade, Rustem Kazazi was flying back to Europe to help his Albanian family repair their home and...
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