Property Rights

The Fourth Amendment provides that people shall "be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," and no warrant shall be issued without "probable cause." Yet, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers routinely violate both provisions, acting in accordance with a 2018 Directive that requ ...

International travel can be a stressful experience. Between remembering passports, language barriers at foreign airports, and customs, it's enough to frustrate even the most seasoned travelers. After a long journey, there is no greater relief than landing safely back in America, clearing customs, and heading home. But that relief turned to horro ...

This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will gather around tables filled with food, but millions of others will have no table at all. Homelessness has surged in many major American cities, even in a nation overflowing with wealth and land. The problem is not that we have run out of space, materials, or compassion. It is that we have surrounded the ...

Pacific Legal Foundation is back at the California Supreme Court to represent veteran builder Tim Shea in a high-stakes property rights case that could finally clarify how California's coastal permitting system works. On Dec. 3, PLF attorney Jeremy Talcott delivered oral arguments challenging the California Coastal Commission's attempt to override ...

I have big news: Pacific Legal Foundation is going back to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend a Michigan family against an outrageous injustice. We've joined as co-counsel in the case Pung v. Isabella County, which will be argued at the Court this term. (You can hear directly from the attorneys litigating the case if you join our online discussion on ...

A fine not even a baron could pay King John was cruel, of that there was no doubt. But when he turned on his closest friend and ally, the Marcher lord William de Braose, his brutality knew no bounds. William had won great favor with the King by playing an integral role in helping him secure the throne in 1199. After Richard the Lionheart died, ...

For generations, Americans have crossed great expanses of wilderness in search of a place to plant their roots, build a life, and freely use their property. Montana has long symbolized that spirit — a place where property rights and freedom still mean something. But even in Montana, that promise is fading under growing government control dicta ...

The United States is facing a homelessness crisis—and the situation is worse than ever before. At the end of 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calculated a total of 770,000 total homeless people, which was an 18 percent increase from the beginning of the year. To address the impending crisis, Pacific Legal Foundation p ...

A Wyoming ranching family is claiming victory after government officials agreed to settle their lawsuit. Tom and Ayda Hamman sued the Heart Mountain Irrigation District (HMID) after government workers caused thousands of dollars in property damage—and significant bodily injury—when they illegally destroyed fencing and an entryway on the family' ...