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I'm Chip Mellor, President and General Counsel of the Institute for Justice.
The Institute for Justice is a public interest law firm and we provide free
legal representation to clients across America
whose most basic rights are being denied by government. Like the right to earn an
honest living without
arbitrary government interference, the right to own and enjoy private property,
the right to obtain the education that you feel best meets the needs of your children
and the right to speak freely. When people hear the term public interest lawyers,
the oftentimes think
of lawyers that seek to expand government power. The Institute for Justice is
different because
it seeks to limit government power and protect basic American rights.
We do that in a way that's different than most organizations as well, because
not only do we litigate cases
and provide free legal representation, but we combine that with very
sophisticated media relations,
strategic social science research, and
effective grassroots activism that means that we can take pretty much
any case that we bring around the country on any issue and, as part of a
larger strategic initiative, elevate it
to national significance. And we do that on a routine basis. Every case the
Institute for Justice takes on
is an uphill fight against very powerful foes
and very difficult precedent. Nevertheless
we win about three out of every four cases that we take on. That's either
through
courtroom victories or legislative reform. When we do lose cases,
which we do on occasion, we're resilient. We bounce back and learn the lessons from
those cases
and come at the issue from a different angle to try and maximize the chances
for success the next time around.
And, oftentimes, that's exactly what happens. One of the most despotic powers
the government possesses
is the power of eminent domain: the ability to take private property.
That's especially despotic when private property is taken from one person
and given to another private party. That's exactly what happened to
the Institute for Justice's client Susette Kelo.
Susette, the day before Thanksgiving, found that her home,
her dream home, a little pink house on the river in New London, Connecticut, was
being taken from her
and given to a private developer to build a housing complex to complement a
nearby pharmaceutical plant.
We took her case all the way to the US Supreme Court, and sadly we lost in a
terrible 5-4 decision. Americans across the country were outraged.
We mobilized that outrage to secure reforms in 47 states around the country
so that today private property owners, homeowners, small businesses,
don't have to face the same kind of threat to their well-being
that Susette had to face. The need for constitutional limits on government
power has never been more urgent.
Without those constitutional limits, our liberties are dependent
upon the self-restraint of government officials. And history shows
that's no protection at all. If constitutional liberties are important to you,
please support the Institute for Justice today.
Thank you.