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Institute for Justice updates

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Property Rights

Miami Faces Lawsuit Over Unconstitutional Land Taking Scheme Targeting More Than a Thousand Homeowners Across the City

Chad Trausch is a Navy veteran who wanted to expand his home in Miami due to his growing family. But when he submitted plans for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom addition, the city came back with a strange request: It wanted half his front yard for free. Miami wants to widen streets in Chad's neighborhood at some point, but rather than pay for the land to do it, it's demanding the land whenever a homeowner submits a permit request for a bathroom remodel, kitchen expansion, or other unrelated land use permit. So, Chad and IJ are suing to stop this unconstitutional scheme.

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Shannon McKinnon ([link removed] )

Immunity & Accountability

Dallas Bar Owner Asks Supreme Court to Let His Suit Over Bogus Prosecution Move Forward

In a moment practically made for TV, the prosecution’s case fell apart on the stand. A Dallas detective admitted that he had been paid for years by a business that wanted Shannon McKinnon’s bar closed and had used evidence from that business to charge McKinnon with a felony—in a case the detective wasn't even assigned to. Dallas prosecutors dropped the case acknowledging that the detective’s tainted investigation was improper. Now, IJ is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let Shannon's lawsuit against the detective move forward.

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Fourth Amendment

Watch: Bogus Traffic Stop → Interrogation Tactics EXPOSED

IJ client Alek Schott was pulled over in Texas for allegedly “crossing the fog line,” then interrogated for 30 minutes before a dog supposedly alerted and a deputy ransacked his truck without a warrant. No drugs were found. Since then, we have learned that Alek's stop had nothing to do with traffic: The deputy was part of a “criminal interdiction” unit created to roam highways and use traffic stops as an excuse to search cars.

In this video, we walk you through the tactics deputies use to interrogate drivers and search their vehicles without warrants.

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WATCH: Small Business Owner CRUSHED to Protect Competitors ([link removed] )

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Thinking about donating stock? Remember to complete the donation by December 31.

Support IJ’s mission by donating stocks or mutual funds through our Vanguard Brokerage Services account—an easy, tax-smart way to help defend the Constitution. To qualify for this year’s tax benefits, complete your gift by December 31 and start the transfer early to allow time for processing.

Visit ij.org/donate-stock ([link removed] ) to submit your form and access brokerage details. If you donate stock, please notify us about your gift so we can thank you! Questions? Contact J.R. Goetz at [email protected] or (703) 682-9320, ext. 119.

IJ Podcasts

BTB-podcast-1 ([link removed] )

Beyond The Brief: She Spent Life Savings on Salon...City Council: “Nope.”

When Khalilah Few wanted to expand her natural hair salon business, she found a long-empty store front. But because there are three other salons within several miles, the county told Khaliah she couldn’t open.

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Short Circuit: Judges as Employers

What happens if you sue your employer and your boss’s boss is a federal judge? Aliza Shatzman of the Legal Accountability Project rejoins us to detail a recent Fourth Circuit case where an employee who worked in a federal public defender’s office alleged she was sexually harassed and then sued about it.

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Champions for a Free and Just America

Your tax-deductible contribution helps IJ fight for Americans’ rights. IJ defends ordinary people who want to pursue their vision of the American Dream but find that the government is standing in their way. We stand with our clients no matter how long their cases take, and we win about 70% of the time.

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