Institute for Justice

The Institute for Justice (IJ) is a libertarian public interest law firm registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded in 1991.^[1] IJ’s major issue areas include what they refer to as economic liberty, educational choice, private property, first amendment rights, and immunity and accountability. IJ “advocates on behalf of property owners, entrepreneurs and others whose homes, livelihoods and freedom of speech are threatened by pointless, overreaching and unnecessary government regulation,” according to its State Policy Network membership profile.^[2] IJ states that it wins “nearly three out of every four cases we file despite the challenges inherent in litigating against the government.”^[1] As of November 2023, IJ claims to have litigated more than 300 cases, including 10 before the U.S. Supreme Court since its founding in 1991, and to have 99 active cases across 36 states and Washington, DC.^[1]^[3]

As of 2023, IJ has over 150 staff members across five offices.^[4] IJ engages in litigation, activism, legislation, and research. IJ has four projects underway:

Project on Immunity and Accountability, which attacks doctrines which “shield government workers from accountability.”^[5]
End Forfeiture Initiative, which seeks to abolish civil forfeiture.^[6]
Project on the Fourth Amendment, which works to “eliminate loopholes that let the government investigate us and our property without having to get a warrant.”^[7]
Food Freedom Initiative, which seeks to curtail food-related regulations, including “restrictions that prevent people from making food for sale in their home kitchens.”^[8]

The progressive advocacy organization People for the American Way (PFAW) has described IJ as 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.” PFAW went on to describe how, “in the past, Clint Bolick's Institute for Justice was better known for his vehement animosity towards virtually every proposed civil rights bill. He even opposed those bills supported by Presidents Nixon and Bush. For example, he branded the 1991 Civil Rights Act as a 'quota' bill, even after it was supported by President Bush and 90 percent of the Congress.”^[9]

IJ was cofounded by William "Chip" Mellor, previously president of the State Policy Network-member Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy^[10] and 2012 recipient of the conservative Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation's Bradley Prize.^[11] IJ's other co-founder, Clint Bolick, joined the Goldwater Institute in 2007.^[12] John Blundell was also a founding director.^[13]

IJ is currently a “partner” member of the State Policy Network.^[2] In addition to its five state offices, IJ also maintains a student law clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, called the Clinic on Entrepreneurship, which provides free legal assistance to low-income entrepreneurs.^[14]

Koch Wiki

Charles Koch is the right-wing billionaire owner of Koch Industries. As one of the richest people in the world, he is a key funder of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360.

Ties to the Koch Brothers

According to a statement on IJ's website, "Charles Koch provided the initial seed funding that made it possible to launch the Institute in 1991. David Koch has been a generous benefactor each year of IJ’s first decade."^[15]

Since its founding, IJ has received donations from a number of groups with links to the Koch brothers, including a donation of $15,000 from the Charles G. Koch Foundation in 2001 and two donations of $250,000 each from the David H. Koch Foundation in 1999 and 2001. IJ also received $716,800 from DonorsTrust and the Donors Capital Fund between 2010 and 2012.

Other organizations with links to the Kochs have worked on cases with IJ, including the Cato Institute and the Goldwater Institute.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

As of IJ’s most recent IRS tax filing (2022), it is currently a dues-paying member of ALEC. According to tax filings, the Institute for Justice has been a dues-paying member of ALEC since at least 2018.

In 2011, Institute for Justice Executive Director Lee McGrath introduced the "Asset Forfeiture Process and Private Property Protection Act" to the Public Safety and Elections Task Force meeting at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in New Orleans.^[16]

About ALEC

ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

History

Jane Mayer in her book Dark Money describes how the Institute for Justice began,

"By 1990, enterprising conservative and libertarian activists were wearing a path to Wichita, where they, like (Rich) Fink before them, would pitch their proposals to Charles Koch in hopes of patronage. Typical was the experience in 1991 of two former Reagon administrations lawyers, Clint Bolick, a former aide to Clarence Thomas, and William "Chip" Mellor III, in search of seed money for a new kind of aggressive, right-wing public interest law firm that would litigate against government regulations in favor of "economic liberty." Mellor recalled thinking, "Who else would give us enough money to be serious?" According to Mellor, after lower-level aides initially turned down the proposal, Charles Koch himself committed $1.5 million on the spot, but with strings attached, keeping him in control. As Mellor recalled, "He said, 'Here's what I'm going to do. I'll give you up to $500,000 a year for three years, each year, but you have to come back each year and demonstrate that you've met these milestones that you've set out to accomplish and I will evaluate it on a yearly basis, and there's no guarantees.'" The legal group, the Institute for Justice, went on to bring numerous successful cases against government regulations, including campaign-finance laws, several of which reached the Supreme Court."^[17]

Activities

IJ's website notes that in addition to litigation, it "has a legislative team working to make changes at the local and state government levels." IJ provides model legislation on its website in areas such as eminent domain, business regulation, and criminal forfeiture.^[18]

The Milwaukee-based "A Job is a Right Campaign" wrote, "In pursuit of its goal of a radical laissez-faire capitalism, the Institute has initiated a number of lawsuits aimed at ending government regulation of business. While the lawsuits generally involve small businesses, often in communities of color, the goal is to set a legal precedent for the deregulation of big business in general."^[9]

Documents Contained at the Anti-Environmental Archives

Documents written by or referencing this person or organization are contained in the Anti-Environmental Archive, launched by Greenpeace on Earth Day, 2015. The archive contains 3,500 documents, some 27,000 pages, covering 350 organizations and individuals. The current archive includes mainly documents collected in the late 1980s through the early 2000s by The Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), an organization that tracked the rise of the so called "Wise Use" movement in the 1990s during the Clinton presidency. Access the index to the Anti-Environmental Archives here.

Supreme Court Cases

Below are cases in which the Institute for Justice was involved that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Timbs v. Indiana (2021)

In this case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states cannot impose excessive fines. Other groups which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in this case include the Cato Institute, American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP, Constitutional Accountability Center, and Pacific Legal Foundation.

Carson v. Makin (2018)

This case dealt with school choice, also known as the push to favor charter schools over public schools. In this case, the Institute for Justice and the First Liberty Institute (FLI) “filed a legal challenge to Maine’s exclusion of religious options from the state’s school choice program.”^[19] Maine law prohibited some towns from paying tuition on behalf of families who chose to send their children to religious schools. The Supreme Court ruled that “school choice programs must be neutral regarding religion.”^[20]

Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)

On February 28, 2014, IJ filed an amicus brief with the Reason Foundation in the case Susan B. Anthony List et al. v. Steven Driehaus, et al.,^[21] which dealt with an Ohio law that "makes it a criminal offense to make knowingly or reckless false statements about a candidate," according to Reuters.^[22] Responding to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in January 2014 to hear the case, Paul Sherman, an attorney for IJ, told the Columbus Dispatch, "I think this is further evidence that the court sees serious problems with state laws that regulate electoral speech [...] They have recently shown a lot of hostility to these kinds of laws, and with very good reason."^[23]

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the judgement of two lower courts and remanded the case to the lower courts, in favor of the Susan B. Anthony List, on June 16, 2014.^[24]

Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett (2011)

IJ represented several challengers of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Act of 1998, which provided for public financing of candidates who "agreed to limit their personal spending to $500, participate in at least one debate and return unspent money," according to the New York Times.^[25] The case resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the Arizona law in a 5-4 vote, with the majority arguing that "the law violated the First Amendment rights of candidates who raise private money. Such candidates, the majority said, may be reluctant to spend money to speak if they know that it will give rise to counterspeech paid for by the government."^[25]

Winn v. Garriott (2010)

Winn v. Garriott (also known as Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn) had challenged "an Arizona tax credit which provides tax credits for contributions to tuition organizations, which then use the contributions to provide scholarships for, among others, religious schools."^[26]

In a 2011 decision, the US Supreme Court let the program stand, arguing that those challenging the law did not have standing to do so. The New York Times suggested that, "by closing the courthouse door to some kinds of suits that claim violations of the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion, the court’s ruling in the case may be quite consequential."^[27]

Kelo v. City of New London (2005)

As described by the Washington Post, the Supreme Court in Kelo v. City of New London ruled "that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project's success is not guaranteed."^[28]

IJ represented the property owners in the case; IJ also helped produce a film about the case in 2014, "Little Pink House."^[29]

Swedenburg v. Kelly (2005)

IJ's website states that it represented Virginia vintner Juanita Swedenburg, California vintner David Lucas, and "wine consumers" in a 2000 federal lawsuit "challenging the ban on direct interstate wine shipments in New York." According to IJ, the case dealt with "Internet commerce, free trade among the states, and regulations that hamper small businesses and the consumers they seek to serve."^[30]

The case was consolidated with a similar case, Granholm v. Heald, by the Supreme Court, which held that both Michigan and New York bans on direct interstate wine sales did violate the Commerce Clause.^[31]

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

As described by the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, in the case Zellman v. Simmons-Harris, "the Supreme Court upheld an Ohio law that provided tuition assistance to low-income students living in Cincinnati who chose to attend private schools, and academic support for students whose parents chose to keep them in public schools," and held that the law did not violate the Establishment Clause even if tuition aid was used for a religious school.^[32]

In a statement on its website, IJ describes the court's ruling in the case as having "removed the federal Constitution from the legal arsenal of teachers' unions and other school choice opponents and opened the door to full vindication of Brown's promise of equal educational opportunity for all."^[33]

IJ joined a brief filed by the Cato Institute, along with the Goldwater Institute and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.^[34]

Funding

Institute for Justice is not required to disclose its funders, but major foundation supporters can be found by searching IRS filings. However, between 1998 and 2022, the following entities made charitable contributions to IJ:

Adolph Coors Foundation: $900,000 (2011-2021)
America Online Giving Foundation: $335,923 (2020-2021)
Andrew Foundation: $100,000 (2020)
Atlas Economic Research Foundation: $20,000 (2015-2022)
Bader Family Foundation: $50,000 (2018-2020)
Beth and Ravenal Curry Foundation: $250,000 (2020-2022)
Bradley Foundation: $4,290,000 (1998-2021)
Bradley Impact Fund: $89,500 (2013-2021)
Castleman Family Foundation: $900,745 (2014-2020)
Center For Independent Thought: $5,000 (2017)
Center Of The American Experiment: $200,000 (2019-2021)
Charles Koch Institute and Foundation: $77,509 (2014-2019)
Chase Foundation of Virginia: $210,000 (2014-2019)
Claws Foundation: $6,000,000 (2015-2020)
Community Foundation of the Verdugos: $55,000 (2020-2021)
Craft Foundation: $50,000 (2018-2021)
Daniels Fund: $100,000 (2020)
David Family Foundation: $510,000 (2016-2021)
Diana Davis Spencer Foundation: $10,550,000 (2014-2021)
Dick And Betsy Devos Family Foundation: $20,000 (2020-2021)
Diehl Family Foundation: $142,941 (2014-2016)
Donors Capital Fund: $1,522,500 (2010-2020)
Donors Trust: $6,304,305 (2010-2021)
Dunn Foundation: $3,867,000 (2016-2022)
E L Craig Foundation: $450,000 (2019-2021)
Ed Uihlein Family Foundation: $137,500 (2014-2021)
Encounter For Culture and Education: $25,000 (2016-2018)
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: $122,040 (2015)
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund: $14,125,829 (2016-2021)
Fifth Age of Man: $65,000 (2018-2020)
Frederick O J Muzi Foundation: $170,000 (2013-2021)
Freedom and Justice Foundation: $105,000 (2020-2022)
Galashiels Fund Ltd: $6,850,000 (2015-2021)
Gerald John Kaufman Jr Foundation: $60,000 (2017-2020)
Gleason Family Foundation: $2,800,000 (2016-2021)
Goyanes Family Foundation: $260,000 (2020-2022)
Hendry Family Foundation: $75,000 (2015-2016)
Hilibrand Foundation: $250,000 (2014-2021)
James Foundation: $160,000 (2013-2021)
Jaquelin Hume Foundation: $1,325,000 (1999-2010)
Jesus Fund Foundation: $30,000 (2016-2018)
JM Foundation: $25,000 (2012)
John Brown Cook Foundation: $1,350,000 (2019-2021)
John William Pope Foundation: $1,590,000 (1994-2021)
Kauai Energy Institute: $50,000 (2020-2021)
Koch Family Foundations(and David H. Koch): $337,415 (2001-2020)
Kovner Foundation: $1,333,333 (2018-2021)
Lampert Foundation: $950,000 (2014-2019)
Lowndes Foundation: $45,000 (2010-2012)
Lynde And Harry Bradley Foundation Inc: $360,000 (2020-2021)
Maffucci Family Foundation Inc: $222,000 (2014-2022)
Mario Family Foundation: $600,000 (2014-2021)
Martino Family Foundation: $250,000 (2019)
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc: $245,000 (2020-2021)
National Christian Charitable Foundation Inc.: $2,332,200 (2014-2021)
National Philanthropic Trust: $719,508 (2014-2021)
Negaunee Foundation: $50,000 (2012-2013)
Neo Philanthropy: $130,000 (2016)
Opportunity Foundation: $1,155,000 (2014-2021)
Patrick Byrne Foundation: $50,000 (2014)
Philanthropy Roundtable: $50,000 (2016)
Poitras Charitable Foundation Inc: $20,000 (2020)
Randolph Foundation: $350,000 (2007-2009)
Reams Foundation: $690,000 (2014-2021)
Rodney Fund: $375,000 (2020-2022)
Roe Foundation: $70,000 (2013-2020)
Sarah Scaife Foundation: $2,010,000 (2012-2021)
Schwab Charitable Fund: $1,350,352 (2014-2021)
Searle Freedom Trust: $4,450,000 (2006-2021)
Seaver R Carlton Ttee: $20,000 (2015)
Selz Foundation: $320,000 (2020)
Shelby Collum Davis Foundation: $220,000 (1998-2007)
Snider Foundation: $2,095,000 (2015-2020)
Stand Together Fellowships: $60,244 (2015-2019)
Steve & Lana Hardy Foundation: $25,000 (2022)
Strongpoint Foundation: $60,000 (2020-2021)
Susquehanna Foundation: $3,000,000 (2017-2022)
The Ondulado Fund: $1,698,464 (2017-2021)
Thomas W. Smith Foundation: $1,600,000 (2017-2021)
Townsend Family Foundation Ltd: $145,000 (2015-2022)
Trammell and Margaret Crow Foundation: $225,000 (2018-2021)
Tws Foundation c/o Thomas W. Smith: $325,000 (2014-2015)
Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program: $5,050,422 (2020-2021)
Vernon K. Krieble Foundation: $13,000 (2001-2007)
Walton Family Foundation: $1,525,628 (2012-2021)

IJ has highlighted the central role of the Koch Brothers in its founding by presenting its "Cornerstone Award" to them:

"Charles Koch provided the initial seed funding that made it possible to launch the Institute in 1991. David Koch has been a generous benefactor each year of IJ’s first decade. We are deeply grateful for their support and the commitment to liberty it represents. Thank you, Charles and David!"^[35]

Grants Distributed

Although IJ is not primarily a grant-distributing organization, it still is required to report grants and other financial/in-kind assistance offered to other nonprofits. These mainly take the form of membership dues and sponsorship of conferences.

2021

State Policy Network: $20,000
American Legislative Exchange Council: $34,000
Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness: $8,000
Piggyback Network: $7,000

2020

State Policy Network: $20,000
American Legislative Exchange Council: $17,000
Cornerstone Schools of Washington DC: $6,793
DuPont Park Adventist School: $7,480
New Magnolia Garden Center: $7,000
Preparatory School of the District of Columbia: $1,959
TMB Group: $11,000
Templeton Academy: $1,219

2019

State Policy Network: $20,000
Serving Our Children Inc: $32,629
American Legislative Exchange Council: $17,000

2018

State Policy Network: $20,000
Serving Our Children Inc: $80,000
American Legislative Exchange Council: $12,000

2017

State Policy Network: $30,000

2016

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation: $10,000

2015

Community Youth Athletic Center: $300,000

2014
None

2013
None

2012
None

Personnel

Current Staff

As of November 2023, IJ has over 150 staff members. The following list is not exhaustive; other staff, including researchers, paralegals, attorneys, and activists, can be found on the website.^[4]

Leadership

Dana Berliner, Senior Vice President and Litigation Director
Scott G. Bullock, President and Chief Counsel
Bert Gall, Managing Vice President and Senior Attorney
Daniel Knepper, CFO and General Counsel
William H. Mellor, Chairman and Founding General Counsel
Deborah Simpson, Chief Operating Officer

Vice Presidents

John E. Kramer, Vice President for Strategic Relations
Beth Stevens, Vice President for Development
J. Justin Wilson, Vice President for Communications

Senior Attorneys

Dan Alban, Senior Attorney
Paul Avelar, Senior Attorney
Ari Bargil, Senior Attorney
Michael Bindas, Senior Attorney
Erica Smith Ewing, Senior Attorney
Renée Flaherty, Senior Attorney
Robert Frommer, Senior Attorney
Sam Gedge, Senior Attorney
Wesley Hottot, Senior Attorney
Patrick Jaicomo, Senior Attorney
Rob Johnson, Senior Attorney
William R. Maurer, Managing Attorney of the Washington Office
Robert McNamara, Deputy Litigation Director
Arif Panju, Senior Attorney
Justin Pearson, Managing Attorney of the Florida Office
Jeff Rowes, Senior Attorney
Paul Sherman, Senior Attorney

Former Senior Staff

Steven Anderson, Executive Vice President
Melanie Hildreth, Vice President for External Relations
Tim Keller, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Arizona Office
Dick Komer, Senior Attorney
Lee McGrath, Legislative Counsel and Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Minnesota Office
Matt Miller, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Texas Office
Clark Neily, Senior Attorney
Anthony Sanders, Senior Attorney
Brian Montgomery, Director of Finance & Administration
Clint Bolick, Vice President & National Director of State Chapters

Board of Directors

As of November 2023:^[36]

Chip Mellor (chairman): Chairman and Founding General Counsel, Institute for Justice
Scott G. Bullock: President and General Counsel, Institute for Justice
Arthur Dantchik: Managing Director, Susquehanna Investment Group
Bob Gelfond: CEO and Founder, MagiQ Technologies, Inc.
Kenneth N. Levy: Mountain Lakes, NJ
Jim Lintott: Principal, Freedom Management Group LLC
Stephen Modzelewski: Managing Member, Maple Engine LLC
Andrew D. Prins: Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP
Mary E. Stiefel: Miami, FL

Former Board Members

Mark Babunovic: Vice President, Bank of New York
Gerrit Wormhoudt: Attorney-at-Law Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson and Kitch
David Kennedy: President Emeritus, Earhart Foundation
Robert A. Levy: Chairman, Cato Institute
Abigail Thernstrom: Adjunct Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; former Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and former Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute

Contact Information

IJ Headquarters
901 N. Glebe Road
Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22203-1854
Main Line: (703) 682-9320
Dial by Extension: (703) 682-9323
Web: http://www.ij.org/

State Offices

Arizona Office
398 S Mill Ave
Tempe, AZ 85281-2840
Phone: (480) 557-8300
Fax: (480) 557-8305

Florida Office
2 South Biscayne Boulevard
Suite 3180
Miami, FL 33131-1803
Phone: (305) 721-1600
Fax: (305) 721-1601

Texas Office
816 Congress Ave
Suite 960
Austin, TX 78701-2475
Phone: (512) 480-5936
Fax: (512) 480-5937

Washington Office
600 University Street
Suite 1730
Seattle, WA 98101-2925
Phone: (206) 957-1300

Articles and Resources

IRS Filings