#^About - Americans Against Qualified Immunity



Americans Against Qualified Immunity is a grassroots initiative of the Institute for Justice’s Project on Immunity and Accountability, devoted to a simple idea:  If we the people must follow the law, our government must follow the Constitution.

The Institute for Justice is a national public interest, civil liberties law firm, dedicated to instilling accountability in government officials and vindicating the rights of all Americans.

A web of legal doctrines effectively places government workers above the law by making it nearly impossible for individuals to hold them accountable for violations of constitutional rights. Outside of narrow exceptions, these doctrines give all those employed by the government—police, mayors, school officials, IRS agents, you name it—immunity from lawsuits, even if they act in bad faith.

Since the only way to enforce the Constitution is through courts, these doctrines make the Constitution an empty promise by firmly shutting the courthouse doors. But the Constitution is a promise meant to be kept. Those who take an oath to uphold it should be required to keep it. If they don’t, they should be held accountable for their actions.

To that end, IJ is dedicated to knocking down barriers to the enforcement of our nation’s most fundamental law.

We do this through litigation, public education, legislative advocacy, and grassroots activism.
#qualified_immunity #IJ

#^This State Made Selling a Box Illegal



Under Oklahoma law, it’s a crime for anyone but a state-licensed funeral director to sell caskets to the public.  

To become licensed funeral directors, Candi and Todd would have to spend 2 years in a mortuary science program (training in skills wholly unnecessary to selling a casket), complete a one-year apprenticeship under a funeral director, pass two exams on funeral directing, and pay thousands of dollars. And it doesn’t stop there.

They would also have to convert their workshop in Calvin into a full-service funeral home—spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to build an embalming room, create a viewing area for human remains, and purchase a fleet of vehicles to transport human remains. None of these additions would be of any use to them.

All of that to sell a box. But caskets serve no public health or safety purpose.

Now, represented by IJ, Candi and Todd have filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma’s outrageous licensing requirements for casket sales. 
#video #IJ #regulation #Government_is_the_enemy

#^Inmates Forced to Pay for Sheriff's Slush Fund



A class-action lawsuit alleges that a sheriff in Iowa created a devious scheme to take money from people accused of crimes and keep it for his department.

According to the lawsuit, before they could get out of jail, people were forced to sign a document agreeing to pay for the cost of their own incarceration.

But instead of only spending that money on the jail, the sheriff diverted 40% of the money to fund his own office.

–including a state of the art shooting range, laser tag for employee parties, and rented cotton candy machines

IJ is challenging a similar scheme in Brookside, Alabama where the small town police department has cashed in on similar self-funding by ticketing and towing drivers.

There the police force for a town of just 1,300 people, bought a tank,  shiny new SUVs, and military style uniforms, all on the backs of residents and people passing by on the interstate.

But using the justice system to enrich law enforcement is unconstitutional. That’s true in Brookside and it’s true in Iowa.  

That’s why IJ has filed a brief supporting the challenge to the sheriff’s money making scheme.  

IJ can’t take on every case, but we can offer our support to worthy efforts to protect rights and move the law in the right direction.
#video #IJ #Government_is_the_enemy

#^DHS says REAL ID, which DHS certifies, is too unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship

Only the government could spend 20 years creating a national ID that no one wanted and that apparently doesn't even work as a national ID.

But that's what the federal government has accomplished with the REAL ID, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now considers unreliable, even though getting one requires providing proof of citizenship or lawful status in the country.

In a December 11 court filing, Philip Lavoie, the acting assistant special agent in charge of DHS' Mobile, Alabama, office, stated that, "REAL ID can be unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship."
#IJ #Government_is_the_enemy

#^
Florida Supreme Court Ends Homeowner’s Fight Against $100,000 Fine for Parking on Her Own Driveway

The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Lantana resident Sandy Martinez, who was challenging the sky-high fines for minor infractions issued to her by the city. The $165,000 that Sandy owes is a result of daily fines the city assessed for harmless property code violations. Most of this amount—more than $100,000—is a result of the way Sandy’s family parked their cars on their own property. Sandy was represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit law firm that defends property rights nationwide.

“Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are shocking. The Florida Constitution’s Excessive Fines Clause was designed to stop precisely this sort of abuse—to prevent people from being fined into poverty for trivial violations,” said IJ Senior Attorney Ari Bargil. “The court’s refusal to hear Sandy’s case and clarify the constitution’s protections from run-away government fines is a disservice to all Floridians.”
#IJ #Florida #Government_is_the_enemy

#^License Plate Camera → WRONG Person Accused of Crime



Thousands of U.S. cities now use automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras.

These cameras don’t just check a plate when there’s a crime or violation — they indiscriminately photograph every car that passes by, often capturing date, time, and precise GPS location, and store that information indefinitely.

The result: enormous databases tracking the real-time and historic movements of innocent people, with little oversight, transparency, or accountability.

👉 Learn more about the fight against warrantless and unregulated license-plate surveillance at PlatePrivacy.com.
#video #IJ #surveillance #Government_is_the_enemy

Net na zonsondergang aan het het IJ.

#wandelen #hiking #eveninghike #ij #hetij #amsterdam

#^BODYCAM: 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.
#video #IJ #statesploitation

#^ICE Raid Mistake: American Vet Jailed for Days



George Retes, Jr. is a native Californian who enlisted in the Army while a young man, serving his country in Iraq. Wanting to see his kids grow up, he was honorably discharged and got a job as a security contractor in Ventura County, California.

In July 2025, George was on his way to his job site at a state-legal cannabis farm. As he approached the farm, he saw cars parked along the road and people standing around. Eventually he came to a line of immigration agents blocking the road.

He exited his car and asked the agents if he could get by so he could get to his job, but they refused to let him pass. He moved his car to let a group of armored cars and buses pass, but soon after officers deployed tear gas all around his car.

Officers approached his car, giving contradictory orders. In a moment, George’s window broke from agents constantly pushing on it. He was pepper-sprayed and dragged out of the car. George allowed the agents to apprehend him, relying on his Army training to remain calm. One agent put his knee on George’s neck. The other agent put his knee on George’s back. Once they tied George’s hands behind his back, the agents took George into custody, beginning an ordeal that would last for more than 72 hours.

George was held first on the farm, where he was separated from other detainees who were not citizens. He was then taken to a navy base, where the agents took his fingerprints, and his DNA. George was then moved to a detention center in Los Angeles. For the first day, he was not allowed to shower despite hurting from the pepper spray and tear gas covering his body. That first night he spent in absolute agony. He felt on fire.

The next morning, after a psychological exam, he was placed on suicide watch and held in isolation. Despite his repeated requests, George was not allowed to contact an attorney. When he was finally released, the government pressed no criminal charges and never told him why he had been detained. He missed his daughter’s third birthday celebration.

Now George has teamed up with the Institute for Justice and taken steps to sue the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
#video #IJ