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Institute for Justice updates
Fourth Amendment
Judge Rules Lawsuit Challenging Norfolk’s Use of Flock Cameras Can Proceed
A federal court ruled that IJ's constitutional lawsuit challenging the city of Norfolk, Virginia’s use of more than 170 automatic license plate reader cameras can move forward. Norfolk partnered with a company called Flock Safety in 2023 to install automatic license plate reader cameras throughout the city. Flock cameras record every vehicle that drives by. The cameras then upload the data to a server and create a “vehicle fingerprint,” which allows anyone with access to the Flock database to track everywhere that vehicle goes, all without a warrant. With the city’s motion to dismiss denied, the case will now go on to be heard on the merits.
After Losing Lawsuit, Michigan Township Finds New Way to Deny Couple Right to Open Green Burial
After losing a lawsuit brought by local Michigan residents Peter and Annica Quakenbush to exercise their constitutional right to open a business, Brooks Township has found a new way to disenfranchise the couple through a newly adopted regulatory ordinance. The ordinance severely restricts the ability to construct new cemeteries, including green cemeteries, to the point where it is effectively a full ban. IJ is monitoring the situation and ready to defend our victory.
Want to know how IJ challenges abusive zoning in court? Check out this deep dive into IJ's legal strategy that answers why taking zoning to court is so difficult—and what IJ is doing to achieve the near-impossible.
You probably know that al too many jobs require a license to work. But how is that license administered, who enforces its rules, and who makes the decision on whether to take the license away? Almost always it’s a board composed of people with the same license. Rebecca Haw Allensworth joins us to discuss her new book The Licensing Racket: How We Decide Who Is Allowed to Work, and Why It Goes Wrong.
Short Circuit: Boil the Frog to Tear Down the House
Two cases, from the Fourth and Sixth Circuits, came out within just a few days of each other, and each was about a city tearing a house down. And whether that was OK. They came to different conclusions, and we discuss why.
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