# Institute for Justice (IJ) Founded in 1991 by [[Clint Bolick]] and Chip Mellor, the Institute for Justice is the single most consequential libertarian public-interest law firm in the country. IJ operates across four practice areas — school choice, economic liberty, property rights and civil forfeiture, and free speech — but its school choice litigation has produced the most transformative legal outcomes of any organization in the KB's education infrastructure. Annual budget approximately $50M as of recent filings, making it one of the best-funded public-interest law firms in the United States. ## The Four SCOTUS Cases IJ litigated the foundational Supreme Court cases that built the modern religious-school-funding doctrine, systematically dismantling the Establishment Clause barriers to public money flowing to religious schools: **[[Zelman v. Simmons-Harris]]** (2002) — The breakthrough. The Court ruled 5-4 that Ohio's Cleveland voucher program did not violate the Establishment Clause because parents, not the state, chose where to direct the funds. This established the "true private choice" doctrine that underpins every subsequent case. **[[Trinity Lutheran v. Comer]]** (2017) — Extended the principle beyond education: excluding a church from a generally available public benefit (playground resurfacing grants) violated the Free Exercise Clause. Established that states cannot discriminate against religious entities in neutral public programs. **[[Espinoza v. Montana]]** (2020) — Struck down state Blaine Amendments (19th-century anti-Catholic constitutional provisions adopted by 37 states) as applied to school choice programs. If a state offers tuition assistance, it cannot exclude religious schools. **[[Carson v. Makin]]** (2022) — The capstone. Maine's rural tuition program could not exclude religious schools even if those schools would use funds for explicitly religious instruction. Moved from "status" (religious identity) to "use" (religious activity) — states must fund religious instruction if they fund secular instruction through the same program. The arc from Zelman to Carson represents a 20-year litigation strategy that transformed the constitutional landscape for school choice. IJ's theory — that excluding religious schools from public funding programs violates the Free Exercise Clause — is now the governing Supreme Court doctrine. ## Beyond School Choice IJ's other practice areas give the organization a cross-ideological appeal that pure school-choice groups lack: **Civil forfeiture reform** — IJ has been the leading litigator against civil asset forfeiture, representing property owners whose assets were seized by police without criminal conviction. This work draws support from both libertarian right and civil liberties left, and has produced state-level reforms in multiple jurisdictions. IJ's *Policing for Profit* reports have become the standard reference on forfeiture abuse nationwide. **Economic liberty** — Challenges to occupational licensing requirements, certificate-of-need laws, and other regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. IJ has successfully challenged licensing requirements for hair braiders, food truck operators, tour guides, and other small entrepreneurs — cases that combine libertarian principle with sympathetic working-class plaintiffs. **Free speech** — [[First Amendment]] litigation defending commercial speech, political sign rights, and other expression cases. ## Funders The [[Bradley Foundation]] is IJ's single most important institutional funder and the broker of the 2023 EdChoice strategic venture. Other major funders include the [[Koch Network]] (through DonorsTrust and direct giving), the Walton Family Foundation, the DeVos family foundations, and individual libertarian donors. IJ's civil forfeiture work also attracts funding from donors who would not otherwise support school choice — a strategic advantage that diversifies the organization's funding base and insulates it from being coded as purely partisan. ## The EdChoice Partnership In late 2023, IJ formed the **Partnership for Educational Choice** with [[EdChoice]], brokered by the [[Bradley Foundation]]. The venture combines IJ's litigation capacity with EdChoice's policy research and technical assistance — creating a vertically integrated operation that can draft model legislation, provide research support during legislative debates, and then litigate to defend the resulting programs in court. IJ is transitioning its school choice litigation docket to the partnership, while retaining its other practice areas independently. ## Personnel Pipeline IJ alumni have populated the libertarian legal infrastructure: [[Clint Bolick]] went from IJ co-founder to [[Goldwater Institute]] VP of Litigation to Arizona Supreme Court Justice (appointed 2016 by Governor Doug Ducey). Other IJ alumni serve in state attorney general offices, on federal advisory committees, and at allied organizations. The firm functions as a training ground for libertarian-constitutionalist lawyers in the same way the [[Federalist Society]] functions as a networking and credentialing organization. ## See Also - [[School Choice Ecosystem]] — The movement IJ's litigation enabled - [[EdChoice]] — Strategic partner since 2023 - [[Bradley Foundation]] — Primary funder and partnership broker - [[Clint Bolick]] — Co-founder; now Arizona Supreme Court Justice - [[Goldwater Institute]] — Arizona think tank where Bolick served between IJ and the bench - [[School Choice]] — The concept IJ's litigation architecture serves - [[Alliance Defending Freedom]] — The religious-right litigation counterpart to IJ's libertarian model