Beyond the Brief

What happens when the government tries to take well-kept homes and businesses by slapping them with a “blight” label that doesn’t fit? Perth Amboy, New Jersey, tried to do just that—but a court vacated the blight designation, blocking the city from taking those properties for private development.  Today we talk with IJ attorneys Robert McNamara and Bobbi Taylor about how this win happened, what it means for property owners, and why “blight” isn’t a magic word that makes legal protections disappear.  https://youtu.be/671ux5MfZ_4 Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

In Florida, if a town doesn’t like what you do with your lawn, you could face bankruptcy. Sandy Martinez is stuck with $165,000 in fines for completely harmless code violations, most of it for occasionally parking a car a little bit over her driveway and onto the grass. Jim Ficken faced foreclosure of his home because his grass grew too long while he was out of town.  Today we are joined by IJ attorneys Andrew Ward and Mike Greenberg. We’re discussing Florida’s devastating daily-accruing fine system, how courts have refused to stop these abuses, and how IJ is fighting back.  https://youtu.be/cnSW-AcP6_Q Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

New York City is in a housing crisis—and according to official statistics, roughly 26,000 rent stabilized apartments sit vacant. That’s because New York City law makes many units unprofitable to rent. Today, we’re talking about IJ’s new federal challenge focused on vacant units—not occupied apartments—and what it could mean for property rights and renters.  Today we’re joined by IJ attorneys Suranjan Sen and Will Aronin.  https://youtu.be/8haAMezEe0M

Patrick Jaicomo, IJ senior attorney fighting legal doctrines that block accountability. Jeff Wenninger, retired LAPD lieutenant and policing reform expert. They discuss why policing needs enforceable accountability. They examine qualified immunity, training gaps, militarization, crowd-control failures, and how voters and systems can push for meaningful reform.

IJ just scored a win at a Pennsylvania appeals court that puts renters’ privacy rights on the same level as owners’ for the first time anywhere in the country. It was a wild ride featuring a violated court order, a stake out of a judge’s car, and obstruction designed to keep the inspection program a secret. It is also part of decades-long campaign to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court precedent that lets the government enter renters’ homes without a real warrant or suspicion of wrongdoing.  https://youtu.be/BjztA-fIvXg Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

Leo Garcia Venegas and George Retes were simply trying to work, when they got ensnared by dragnet federal immigration raids. Even though both men identified themselves as U.S. citizens, multiple agents aggressively detained them—in Leo’s case two separate times and in George’s case for three days. Now, as more citizens get swept up in these raids, Leo and George are standing up for their rights with IJ.  We’re here with IJ attorneys Jared McClain and Jaba Tsitsuashvili to discuss how current immigration raids are enabling warrantless government trespassing, arrests without probable cause, and other abuses of the Constitution.  To be clear, these cases aren’t about whether the government can enforce immigration laws.  They’re about whether or not the government has to follow the Constitution, federal law, and its own regulations when it does.  https://youtu.be/BhFx47qLx7A Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

Brian Moore and Cristal Starling both lost their money to civil forfeiture, despite neither being charged with a crime. Both of them challenged those forfeitures and both of them got their money back. But only one is being made whole. We’re here with IJ senior attorneys Dan Alban and Paul Sherman to discuss two cases under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act—a law that’s supposed to protect innocent victims of wrongful forfeitures, and why it doesn’t go far enough. https://youtu.be/_NJOTMszsJI Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

When Khalilah Few wanted to expand her natural hair salon business, she found a long-empty store front in Clayton County, Georgia, and spent her life savings renovating it. But she soon discovered that Clayton County singles out hair salons and barbershops for special restrictions. Because there are three other salons within several miles, the county told Khaliah she couldn’t open.    Today we talk with IJ senior attorneys Renée Flaherty and Will Aronin to discuss how Georgia protects the right to earn an honest living and how IJ will make sure Khalilah and other entrepreneurs can open for business.  https://youtu.be/5kN_buJhpvY Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now

Join Michael Soyfer, a Fourth Amendment expert, and Dan King, a communications project manager, as they discuss AI-powered surveillance through automated license plate readers (ALPRs). They uncover how these devices track movements and raise constitutional concerns around privacy. Learn about grassroots pushback, recent victories against ALPR projects, and the implications of the Norfolk litigation. Discover how everyday people can take action to protect their rights in the face of expanding surveillance tactics.

When the government, or even a private company, takes your land using eminent domain, the law promises you just compensation. But what about the thousands of dollars you spent on legal fees fighting for your fair share? For a group of North Dakotans facing off against a natural gas company, the answer could be: Tough luck.  Today we’re joined by IJ Deputy Litigation Director Bob McNamara, and IJ attorney Matt Liles.  We’ll discuss what just compensation really means, how the government lets private companies abuse eminent domain, and what IJ is doing to stop it.  https://youtu.be/R7m8MdZD5KM Become a Monthly Donor Are you looking for a rewarding and consistent way to support IJ’s work?  Become a member of our Merry Band of Monthly Donors and stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients every month of the year. Donate now