The recent death of Chip Mellor, former president of the Institute for Justice (I.J.), made me think about caskets—but not for the reason you might expect. Mellor, who co-founded that public interest law firm with Clint Bolick in 1991, was instrumental in successfully challenging Tennessee's blatantly protectionist restrictions on sales of "funeral merchandise."
That case exemplified Mellor's commitment to defending economic freedom, a vital cause that sets I.J. apart from left-leaning civil liberties groups. For more than three decades, the organization's eclectic agenda, which also includes freedom of speech, private property, and educational choice, has been an inspiring model of what strategic litigation can accomplish for ordinary Americans confronted by an overweening state.
