In its controversial 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, the Supreme Court ruled that private property can be taken and transferred to other private owners in order to promote “economic development.” Eight years have passed since that decision. But, as the New London Day reports, there is still no development going on. […]
Author Archive | Ilya Somin
Right, Left, and the Standing Issues in the Gay Marriage Cases
Both of today’s gay marriage cases raised complex issues of whether the parties had “standing” to appear in federal court. In the Windsor case striking down Section 3 of DOMA, the Obama Administration’s refusal to defend DOMA led the Bipartisan Legislative Assistance Group, made up of members of Congress, to undertake the task. In Hollingsworth […]
The Impact of Today’s Gay Marriage Decisions
It may be a long time before the effects of today’s gay marriage decisions are fully evident. But it seems clear that they represent important progress for same-sex marriage and gay rights more generally. The DOMA case is also a modest success for those who seek to enforce constitutional limits on federal power. Obviously, the […]
The DOMA Decision and Federalism
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion for the Court in the DOMA case relies partly on federalism considerations, striking down Section 3 of DOMA in part because it goes beyond the usual scope of federal authority. In reaching this conclusion, it cites (among other sources) the amicus brief submitted by several federalism scholars, including co-bloggers Randy […]
Will There be More Challenges to Affirmative Action Policies in the Wake of Fisher?
By Ilya Somin on June 25, 2013 8:40 pm in Affirmative Action, Fisher v. University of Texas, Racial Discrimination
Unlike me, co-blogger David Bernstein and widely respected columnist Stuart Taylor believe that the Court’s recent decision in Fisher v. University of Texas was a setback for opponents of affirmative action. They agree that the Court’s ruling raised the legal standards that affirmative action programs must meet in order to survive judicial scrutiny. But they […]
Rick Hills on Koontz, Property Rights, and Federalism
NYU law professor Rick Hills isn’t nearly as pleased with the Supreme Court’s important property rights decision in Koontz as I am. He objects to the result primarily on federalism grounds. In Rick’s view, federal courts should not enforce significant Takings Clause constraints on state land use policies because they can’t effectively with the diversity […]
Thoughts on the Koontz Takings Clause Case
Here are some early reflections on Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District, the important Takings Clause case the Supreme Court decided today. As discussed more fully here, the case involved a situation where Coy Koontz, a Florida property owner, was refused a permit to develop his land by a government agency, unless he […]
Property Owner Wins Important Takings Case
In a major Supreme Court victory for property rights, the Supreme Court ruled against the government in Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District, an important Takings Clause case that I described here here. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion for a 5-4 Court split along ideological lines. This was an unexpected outcome because […]
Jack Balkin on Fisher
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2013 9:22 pm in Affirmative Action, Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Racial Discrimination
Yale law professor Jack Balkin – a leading constitutional law scholar generally sympathetic to affirmative action – has an interesting post on Fisher v. University of Texas. Like me, Balkin believes that the decision will make it more difficult for universities to defend racial preferences in court: Fisher distinguishes between two questions. The first is […]
United States v. Kebodeaux and Congressional Power under the Necessary and Proper Clause
Amidst the hoopla surrounding Fisher v. University of Texas, most people probably missed today’s other potentially significant Supreme Court decision: United States v. Kebodeaux, which deals with Congress powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Trevor Burrus of the Cato Institute (who assisted in the preparation of an amicus brief I coauthored on Cato’s behalf […]
Competing Interpretations of Fisher
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2013 2:49 pm in Affirmative Action, Fisher v. University of Texas, Racial Discrimination
Commentary on today’s Supreme Court decision in Fisher v. University of Texas seems to be divided between those who believe, as I do, that the ruling tightens judicial scrutiny of university affirmative action plans, and those who contend it will make no real difference. Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog suggests that “affirmative action survives at least […]
Fisher, the Texas Ten Percent Plan, and “Race-Neutral” Alternatives to Affirmative Action
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2013 12:41 pm in Affirmative Action, Fisher v. University of Texas, Racial Discrimination
When it was litigated in the lower courts, most observers thought that the most distinctive aspect of Fisher v. University of Texas is that the racial preferences used in its affirmative action plan were grafted on top of the Texas Ten Percent Plan, which guarantees any Texan admission to the UT so long as they […]
Preliminary Thoughts on Fisher v. University of Texas
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2013 11:31 am in Affirmative Action, Fisher v. University of Texas, Racial Discrimination
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Fisher v. University of Texas is a significant victory for opponents of affirmative action in higher education. Formally, the 7-1 ruling written by Justice Anthony Kennedy only remands the case to the court of appeals for consideration under the “strict scrutiny” standard, which requires the government to show that racial […]
New Jersey Legislature Passes Ineffective Eminent Domain “Reform” Law
By Ilya Somin on June 23, 2013 11:45 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Political Ignorance, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
New Jersey is one of only six states that have not enacted an eminent domain reform law since the the Supreme Court’s controversial 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, which ruled that state and local governments have the power to condemn private property and transfer it to other private interests in order […]
Public Ignorance about Obamacare Revisited
By Ilya Somin on June 21, 2013 11:15 am in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Health Care, Insurance Exchanges, Obama, Political Ignorance
The recent Kaiser poll on health care linked by co-blogger Jonathan Adler reveals more evidence of public ignorance about Obamacare. Most notably, 45% of respondents say they have heard “nothing” about the health care reform law’s insurance exchanges, and 34% say they have heard “only a little.” This despite the fact that the exchanges are […]