Protecting Freedom in the Courts -- Conversation with Joshua Windham | Yaron Brook Show

Live May 18, 2026 | Yaron Brook Show (Bonus Episode Season 12, Episode 10) Protecting Freedom in the Courts -- Conversation with Joshua Windham | Yaron Brook Show *Can the Courts Still Defend Freedom? Joshua Windham on ICE, Surveillance, Property Rights & the Future of Liberty* What happens when government power collides with individual rights? And are America’s courts still willing to defend freedom when it matters most? In this bonus episode of the Yaron Brook Show, Yaron sits down with Institute for Justice senior attorney Joshua Windham to discuss ICE detentions, government surveillance, property rights, economic liberty, and the growing battle over the Fourth Amendment. From wrongful detentions and warrantless searches to attacks on economic freedom, this conversation explores how fragile liberty becomes when courts defer to government power — and why state constitutions may become the next major defense of individual rights. The episode also dives into constitutional interpretation, judicial philosophy, Scalia’s legacy, asylum law, Weimar Germany parallels, and the future of the Supreme Court. If you care about freedom, constitutional limits, and the future of individual rights in America, this is a must-watch conversation. Watch Now: https://youtube.com/live/SXMjmDf0Cls About: Joshua Windham is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and co-director of IJ’s Project on the Fourth Amendment. He specializes in constitutional litigation involving economic liberty, property rights, and government surveillance, and has won major state constitutional victories protecting individual rights in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Learn more about Joshua Windham here: https://ij.org/staff/joshua-windham/ Learn more about the Institute for Justice: https://ij.org/ Main Discussion 0:00 — Why the Courts Matter More Than Ever 0:43 — Introduction & Welcoming Joshua Windham 1:42 — Inside the Institute for Justice 4:06 — ICE Rights Violations & the Upcoming Supreme Court Case 9:52 — The Repeated Detentions of Leo Garcia Venegas 12:16 — Constitutional Limits on Law Enforcement 19:01 — How Common Are Wrongful Detentions? 21:15 — Government Surveillance & Fourth Amendment Battles 26:44 — State Constitutions & Property Rights 28:01 — Can the Supreme Court Be Challenged on Surveillance? 30:45 — Building Legal Precedents Against Government Overreach 40:10 — Legislation vs Litigation: Where Change Happens 41:47 — Why Economic Freedom Gets Less Protection Than Speech 47:41 — Real Estate Licensing & the Right to Earn a Living 51:27 — Economic Liberty Cases & State Courts 55:30 — Why Individual Rights Still Matter 56:02 — Rationality, Philosophy & the Judiciary 58:27 — The Difficulty of Legislative Testimony Live Audience Questions 59:26 — Is There a Better Constitutional Method Than Textualism or “Living Constitution”? 1:03:21 — First Supreme Court Argument: Advice for a Young Attorney 1:06:34 — Convenience vs Privacy: Can Surveillance Tech Be Ethical? 1:07:51 — Are Courts Standing Up to Trump? 1:10:03 — Weimar Germany: Why Didn’t the Courts Stop Tyranny? 1:10:41 — Birthright Citizenship & Constitutional Interpretation 1:12:03 — Should Judges Go Beyond the Arguments Presented? 1:15:36 — Voting Rights Act & Recent Court Rulings 1:16:16 — The Origins of the Exclusionary Rule 1:18:04 — How Lawyers Can Improve Legal Writing 1:20:32 — Antonin Scalia & the Fourth Amendment 1:23:49 — Which State Supreme Courts Are Most Interesting? 1:27:33 — Is This the Most Pro-Free Speech Supreme Court Ever? 1:30:39 — The Current State of Asylum Law 1:31:31 — Should the Eighth Amendment Have More Teeth? 1:37:08 — Should the Supreme Court Expand? 1:38:10 — More Questions in the Pinned Comment #Constitution #SupremeCourt #FourthAmendment #PropertyRights #EconomicFreedom #GovernmentSurveillance #IndividualRights #InstituteForJustice #FreeSpeech #capitalism #Objectivism *The Yaron Brook Show is Sponsored by* [The Ayn Rand Institute](https://www.aynrand.org/starthere) [Energy Talking Points, featuring AlexAI, by Alex Epstein](https://alexepstein.substack.com/) [Express VPN](https://www.expressvpn.com/yaron) [Hendershott Wealth Management](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4lfC...) & (https://hendershottwealth.com/ybs/) [Michael Williams & The Defenders of Capitalism Project](https://www.DefendersOfCapitalism.com) [Support the Show]( / yaronbrookshow ) [Sponsor the Show]([email protected]/) [One-time donation](https://bit.ly/2RZOyJJ) Join the [Yaron Brook Show YouTube channel]( / @yaronbrook ) Like what you hear? Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on new videos and help promote the [Yaron Brook Show](https://bit.ly/3ztPxTx) Continue the discussion by following Yaron on [Twitter](https://bit.ly/3iMGl6z) and [Facebook](https://bit.ly/3vvWDDC ) Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the [Ayn Rand Institute](https://bit.ly/35qoEC3)