At a time when growing numbers of unsuspecting Americans are being swept up into a massive digital data dragnet that does not distinguish between those who are innocent of wrongdoing, suspects, or criminals, The Rutherford Institute is sounding the alarm over the threats posed by license plate readers to First and Fourth Amendment rights.

The Rutherford Institute is pushing back against efforts by government officials to use warrantless aerial drone surveillance to snoop on citizens at home and spy on their private property. 

In a 7-4 en banc ruling in Stinnie v. Holcomb, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed that the government should not be able to sidestep accountability and avoid paying plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees when it has violated the Constitution. 

The Rutherford Institute is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hold police accountable for misidentifying and wrongly arresting an innocent man twice in five years, then jailing him for three days before taking a few minutes to verify his identity. 

Recognizing that the First Amendment requires the government to treat all religious beliefs equally, a federal appeals court has ruled against a Wisconsin jail for leaving a Muslim prisoner no choice but to pray next to the toilet in his cell while jail officers allowed Christian inmates to gather for Bible studies and prayer in a communal area. 

In a 7-2 ruling that protects anti-government speech, the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of a federal law that laid the groundwork for the government to muzzle any nonviolent, political speech that challenges government injustice.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal challenging a modern-day form of highway robbery which empowers police to seize and keep private property (cash, jewelry, cars, homes, and other valuables) they “suspect” may be connected to a crime.

In a 6-3 opinion in Moore v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the rights of citizens to challenge electoral power grabs and gerrymandering in the state courts. 

A unanimous Supreme Court has refused to rein in the government’s power to indiscriminately pick and choose the laws by which it will abide, especially as it relates to the rights of the accused in criminal cases. In a ruling that defies the very safeguards put in place by America’s founders to guard against prosecutorial misconduct, the Court held in Smith v. United States that a defendant who faced trial in the wrong location can simply be prosecuted again in another location without triggering the Double Jeopardy Clause, which prohibits the government from prosecuting someone twice for the same crime.

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that government employees—in this case, a postal worker requesting Sundays off for religious worship—should not have to choose between their right of conscience and the threat of losing their livelihood when reasonable accommodations for their religious observances can be found. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has provided greater protections on speech by ruling in Counterman v. Colorado that when the government seeks to punish what it considers to be threatening speech, it must prove a defendant had some understanding of his statements’ character and acted recklessly by disregarding the risk his words would be viewed as threatening violence. 

Responding to a report suggesting that the University of Virginia should consider tracking the religious and political affiliations/ideologies of students and faculty, The Rutherford Institute has warned that such a program would raise significant constitutional concerns, especially as it pertains to the right of citizens to associate anonymously without being compelled by the government to disclose their political or religious beliefs.

The Rutherford Institute is challenging attempts by the government to sidestep accountability and avoid having to make financial restitution for violating the citizenry’s First Amendment right to political expression. The City of Punta Gorda, Fla., was found to have acted unconstitutionally when it fined two protesters a total of $3000 for displaying political messages stating “F@#k Biden,” “F@#k Trump,” and “F@#k Policing 4 Profit” in violation of the city’s sign ordinance.

In a unanimous opinion in Polselli v. IRS, the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the IRS to go on secret, warrantless fishing expeditions through innocent taxpayers’ bank records in order to identify and collect unpaid taxes from family members and associates who have no legal interest in those bank accounts. 

The U.S. Supreme Court once yet again refused to hold police accountable for using force on unarmed individuals who have already surrendered or complied with police orders. 

Warning against unconstitutional power grabs and overreaches by the IRS, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restrict the tax agency’s authority to carry out warrantless searches of innocent taxpayers’ bank accounts and financial records as part of its efforts to identify and pursue the funds of associated family members and friends with delinquent taxes.

In a 6-3 decision in Reed v. Goertz, a case that raises concerns of racial bias and systemic injustice in Texas’ death penalty system, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the need to protect due process rights as it relates to post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence.

Pushing back at attempts by the courts to silence individuals whose religious views may be perceived as intolerant or hateful, The Rutherford Institute is challenging a five-year restraining order against a street preacher who has been threatened with arrest after citing Bible verses on social media to express his moral concerns about a church that endorses same-sex marriage and raising awareness about a public drag queen performance that occurred in front of children.

The Rutherford Institute is pushing back against efforts to roll back First Amendment protections that could result in discriminatory treatment and double standards by public colleges and universities against religious student groups. Without protections in place, religious student groups at more than 1,200 public colleges and universities could face adverse action by administrators inclined to view the groups’ religious beliefs and statements of faith as violating the schools’ non discrimination policies.

The Rutherford Institute is pushing back against a modern-day form of highway robbery which empowers police to seize and keep private property (cash, jewelry, cars, homes and other valuables) they “suspect” may be connected to a crime. Weighing in before the U.S. Supreme Court in Culley v. Marshall, Rutherford Institute attorneys are challenging the government’s use of delaying tactics in asset forfeiture proceedings which make it difficult for individuals innocent of any wrongdoing to timely recover their property—especially cars and cash—seized by police.