Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.
New case! Last year, Macon-Bibb County, Ga. officials demolished IJ client Eric Arnold's house without any notice or any kind of court proceeding—one of 800 houses to be demolished in the county over the last three years as part of a secret code enforcement program that lacks the most basic due process safeguards. Eric was renovating the house, which he planned to give to family; and while there was still work to do, the yard was neat, the exterior was clean, and it was in vastly improved shape compared to when he bought it. Click here to learn more.
New case! In 2022, a Broward County, Fla. officer arrested IJ client Jennifer Heath Box on a warrant for a woman with a somewhat similar name but completely dissimilar age, address, SSN, driver's license #, and much, much more. (It turned out officers in Texas had mistakenly put Jennifer's driver's license photo on the warrant.) She spent three days in jail in miserable conditions that included a strip search, freezing temperatures, and a male inmate who repeatedly tried to get into her cell when she was alone. "[The officer] had so much evidence that he had the wrong Jennifer, and he either ignored that evidence or deliberately misled other Broward County officials," says IJ Attorney Jared McClain. "We must be able to hold government officials accountable when they overlook glaring evidence and arrest the wrong person." Click here to learn more.
