I'd be curious to know if it's identified as a Clarence Thomas quote. If not, people could have some fun by asking young folks wearing them if they know who said it.

I was just flipping through the channels on TV and stopped at C-Span where Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) is saying how he believes Kelo is an assault on private property and that Congress must step in to give different meaning to "public use". Of course we've seen all of the discussion on the law blogs about Kelo, but I must say that I am amazed that so much public attention is being paid to a decision that in my mind doesn't change the status quo much (given the deferential review of Midkiff). The T-shirt in the email from Prof. Garnett's student is, it appears to me, emblematic of this public reaction. Moreover, the day after Kelo came down I received a worried email from my brother-in-law based on one article that he read about Kelo and his fear that private property rights were moving fast down the slippery slope. I personally don't have very strong opinions about Kelo, but given Midkiff, I am surprised that the legal community is treating Kelo as a revolution. And I'm even more surprised that the lay public (I don't want that to sound pejorative - sorry if it does) has taken such an interest in the decision (moreso than Van Orden &McCreary it seems).

Ultimately, I like that a large segment of the public is involved in understanding Supreme Court decisions. Moreover, I am glad to see that most of the commentary I've seen has been measured and doesn't resort to histrionics (except one that suggested that Wal-Mart and Target can just demand land now and get it). It's just very interesting sometimes to see what has popular appeal.

Time for me to get back to studying for the bar exam.

Naturally, I wanted one of these shirts too. But I couldn't find it on their web site (www.urbanoutfitters.com), and I'm not about to drive across town to find one.

Maybe they only sell them in LA?

myalterego, respectfully, you are wrong.
Someone once said; "Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean someone is not out to get me." The reason so many people are so upset about Kelo is that so many of us know that when such a door is left ajar for corruption, it will be opened. Let me give you an example. I bought a house in a very nice waterfront neighborhood in Florida a year ago. I bought it as an investment and know because of my job I will only be here for a maximum of four years. Probably a little above my means, but, again, it is an investment. It has already gone up at least 20%. My neighbors on the other hand, bought low and not only that, love their homes and plan on staying here for the rest of their lives. By the way, the Homestead Act of Florida caps the property tax after you have been in place for one year. I know that my property taxes will go up quite a bit this year but will be capped each year from now on. I am willing to live with that increase. By the same token, my neighbors have been Homesteaded for years and pay low property taxes. If they were forced to sell, they could not afford the new baselined taxes on a waterfront home; IF they could afford the new home. Not to mention my situation, since I would not be able to find out if my home continued to appreciate. This decision potentially destroys the American dream of working hard and owning a home. How many developers are plotting even now, to buy our homes at a "fair market value"? After all, there is absolutely no debate that forced selling of all of our waterfront homes would reap a windfall in higher property taxes for the local government. And, the developers stand a great chance at making a bundle. This is just another example of the slow but steady creep of this court away from the meaning of the original constitution. When the courts can whittle away at individual rights that are so obvious, one shudders to think of those rights that are more nuanced.

I should start out by saying that I am not a lawyer and the question below will most likely point that out.

The question I have is this: What does "just compensation" really mean? Does it mean market value, the amount owed on my mortgage, or just what the organization taking my property wants to pay?

I apologize in advance if this question is somewhat simple but I am curious as to the answer.

Thank you.

I don't mean to downplay a sister-of-a-student-of-a-friend story, but it seems wildly implausible that Urban Outfitters has for sale a t-shirt with a Justice Thomas dissenting quote within a week of the opinion being published. Even if one orders the shirt from CafePress, it takes five business days to get to you, unless you're ordering it express, which would seem to be a poor business decision for a for-profit store. More likely she got it on-line from CafePress, and didn't want to trouble her brother with the details.

Wm Speiler:

I am not sure who currently owns Urban Outfitters. The founder, however, is none other than progressive Judy Wicks of White Dog Cafe (Phila., Pa.) fame. See her bio here.

The "trend" was a bit of a joke -- of course one item doesn't make a trend, but more importantly Supreme Court lines are highly unlikely to become a pop culture trend in any event. (As to wishful thinking, if you've read my posts on Kelo, you must have seen that I'm not a partisan of Justice Thomas's dissent.)

As to the story, I find it pretty credible. Rick is an honest guy, so I feel quite confident his student did tell him this. And in my experience students rarely pull their professors' legs, so I suspect that the essence of the student's story is accurate. I'm not as sure about the Urban Outfitters detail; people sometimes confuse such things.

Maybe she got it from here .

I assure you I am not clever enough and certainly not funny enough to come up with such a funny anecdote. And 20 year old college sophomore girls never stretch the truth, right? Perhaps she got it from the internet and was embarrassed to have sought out such a shirt. But I assure you that she greeted me yesterday with "Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's interpretation of the Constitution." printed boldly across her chest. And for the reader who asked whether the quotation is attributed directly to Justice Thomas - it is. The question about whether or not Urban Outfitters is only "pseudo-hip" is way way out of my league. I think the fact that I used the word "hip" should say plenty.