My new article “What if Kelo v. City of New London Had Gone the Other Way?” is now available on SSRN. It is part of an Indiana Law Review symposium on “What if? Counterfactuals in Constitutional History.” Here is the abstract: Kelo v. City of New London is one of the most controversial decisions in […]
Archive | Eminent Domain
California Supreme Court Upholds Law Abolishing Redevelopment Agencies
The California Supreme Court recently issued a ruling upholding the constitutionality of a law abolishing the state’s numerous redevelopment agencies: The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday against redevelopment agencies, including San Diego’s, and said they cannot remain in business by paying the state a portion of their property tax receipts…. The court was dealing with […]
The Political Battle Over Eminent Domain Reform in Virginia
By Ilya Somin on November 26, 2011 10:50 am in Eminent Domain, Political Ignorance, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Virginia was one of several states that enacted a strong eminent domain reform law after the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that it was permissible for government to take private property and transfer it to other private individuals in order to promote economic development. Supporters of the Virginia law are […]
Justice Stevens on Kelo
By Ilya Somin on November 16, 2011 3:59 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, retired Justice John Paul Stevens defended his controversial majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London, which ruled that it was permissible for government to condemn private property for transfer to private parties in order to promote “economic development.” The Court ruled that this was a permissible […]
Justice Stevens Defends Kelo
The WSJ‘s Jess Bravin reports on an interview with recently retired Justice John Paul Stevens in which he defended his “most unpopular opinion” — Kelo v. New London — from recent criticism by Justice Antonin Scalia (see here and here). “It’s the most unpopular opinion I ever wrote, no doubt about it,” Justice Stevens said […]
My Op Ed on the Passage of Mississippi Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on November 9, 2011 3:39 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Today, I published an op ed in the Daily Caller on the passage of Mississippi referendum Measure 31, an important eminent domain reform law. Here is an excerpt: The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London generated a record political backlash. Kelo upheld the condemnation of private property for transfer to […]
Mississippi Measure 31 Passes
Mississippi Measure 31 – the important eminent domain reform initiative – has passed, probably by an overwhelming margin. Although the returns are not yet completely in, the “yes” side has 74% of the vote with almost 65% of precincts reporting. I outlined the case for Measure 31 here. The overwhelming support for the measure is […]
Vote Yes on Mississippi Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on November 7, 2011 7:37 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Tomorrow, Mississippi voters will decide the fate of Measure 31, an important eminent domain reform proposal. Mississippi is one of only seven states that has not enacted any eminent domain reforms at all since the Supreme Court’s decision controversial decision upholding “economic development” takings in Kelo v. City of New London. Measure 31 would effectively […]
Scalia Predicts that Kelo Will be Overruled
In a recent public appearance, Justice Antonin Scalia predicted that Kelo v. City of New London will eventually be overruled, perhaps soon [HT: George Mason law student Michael Mortorano]: Scalia predicted the court’s 2005 “Kelo” decision saying local governments can take take property from one owner to give to a developer will be reversed someday. […]
Speech at University of Mississippi School of Law on Eminent Domain Referendum Initiative Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on October 6, 2011 3:07 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
On Monday, October 10, I will be speaking at the University of Mississippi School of Law on a Mississippi eminent domain reform referendum initiative, Measure 31 (which is on the ballot this November). The talk is sponsored by the University of Mississippi Federalist Society, and will begun at 12:30 PM in Room 2094. Mississippi is […]
The Tragedy of Urban Renewal
Reason TV has a short but interesting video about the urban renewal era of the 1950s and 60s, when hundreds of thousands of people – mostly poor minorities – were forcibly displaced from their homes by eminent domain. As the video notes, often the land was transferred to politically connected developers and other influential interest […]
My US Commission on Civil Rights Testimony on the Impact of Eminent Domain Abuse on Minority Groups
By Ilya Somin on September 22, 2011 11:14 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Racism
On August 12, I testified at a US Commission on Civil Rights hearing on the “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Abuse.” The video of the oral testimony is available here. I have now made my more detailed written testimony available online here. Here is the Introduction, which includes a summary of the rest [footnotes […]
Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Apologizes to Susette Kelo for his Vote to Uphold the Condemnation of Her Home – But then Lets Himself off the Hook Too Easily
By Ilya Somin on September 19, 2011 8:34 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In the Hartford Courant, journalist Jeff Benedict, author of a major account of the Kelo case, reports on an interesting encounter last year, where Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer apologized to Susette Kelo for voting to uphold the the taking of her home for “economic development” [HT: Cory Andrews]: If a state Supreme Court […]
Brooke Shields to Star in Movie Based on Kelo v. City of New London
The Hartford Courant reports that Brooke Shields will star as Susette Kelo in a TV movie based on the notorious Kelo v. City of New London property rights case [HT: Cory Andrews]. The movie will be based on Jeff Benedict’s excellent journalistic account of the case, Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and […]
Let there be Blight – My New Article on Blight Condemnations in New York
My new article, “Let There Be Blight: Blight Condemnations in New York after Goldstein and Kaur” is now available on SSRN. It critiques the New York Court of Appeals’ recent controversial blight takings decisions in the Atlantic Yards and Columbia University eminent domain cases. It was part of a Fordham Urban Law Journal symposium on […]