A few conservative commentators have advocated using the power of eminent domain to take the land on which the “Ground Zero mosque” is scheduled to be built (see here and here). The idea seems to have originated with New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Legally, such a taking wouldn’t be as simple as Paladino […]
Archive | Eminent Domain
“Blight” Condemnations in Alabama
By Ilya Somin on August 3, 2010 11:43 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Historian David Beito, chair of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights, has an interesting post documenting the abuse of “blight” condemnations in Montgomery, Alabama: “[E]minent domain through the back door” has become commonplace in Montgomery, the cradle of the modern civil rights movement. Under this system, Montgomery has demolished homes […]
Kagan’s Testimony on Property Rights
By Ilya Somin on July 1, 2010 6:54 pm in Eminent Domain, Judicial Nominations, Kagan Nomination, Kelo, Property Rights, Supreme Court
In an exchange with Republican Senator Charles Grassley yesterday, Elena Kagan made some interesting comments on property rights and the controversial Kelo decision: GRASSLEY: …. I want to start with private property. The takings clause of the Fifth Amendment states, “Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” The plain language […]
Universities and Eminent Domain
By Ilya Somin on June 25, 2010 12:41 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In Kaur v. New York Urban Development Corporation, its recent decision upholding the condemnation of property for transfer to Columbia University, the New York Court of Appeals claimed that the use of eminent domain to transfer land to a private university is more defensible than its use to transfer land to commercial corporations, as in […]
New York High Court Upholds Columbia University Takings
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2010 5:44 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In today’s decision in Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corp.
Property Rights Five Years After Kelo
By Ilya Somin on June 23, 2010 4:23 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Today is the fifth anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London, one of the most controversial decisions in Supreme Court history. In Kelo, a narrow 5-4 majority of the Court ruled that the condemnation of private property for transfer to other private individuals for purposes of promoting “economic development” was permitted by the Fifth […]
Federalism and Judicial Enforcement of Constitutional Property Rights
In a recent post on Prawfsblawg, NYU lawprof Rick Hills – a major federalism scholar – argues that federalism concerns justify strictly limiting federal court enforcement of constitutional property rights: SCOTUS’ decision yesterday in Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Dep’t of Environmental Protection once more illustrates the axiom already established by many other decisions: […]
Is the Debate Over Eminent Domain “Empty and Incoherent”?
By Ilya Somin on June 4, 2010 11:07 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In a recent post on Kaur v. Urban Development Corporation, the Columbia eminent domain case currently before New York’s state supreme court, NYU lawprof Rick Hills argues that the debate over eminent domain is largely meaningless. Kaur, like the Atlantic Yards case before it, addresses a key issue in takings law: whether the condemnation of […]
New York High Court Oral Argument in Columbia Eminent Domain Case
By Ilya Somin on June 2, 2010 2:46 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The New York Court of Appeals (which, despite the misleading name, is New York’s state supreme court), held oral arguments yesterday in Kaur v. New York Urban Development Corporation, the case in which New York City is trying to condemn a large amount of property in the Manhattanville neighborhood in order to transfer it to […]
James Ely on Stevens, Kagan, Obama, and Property Rights
By Ilya Somin on May 16, 2010 8:25 pm in Eminent Domain, Judicial Nominations, Kagan Nomination, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Supreme Court
Vanderbilt lawprof James Ely – a leading expert on constitutional property rights – has an interesting column on the relevance of property rights to the current Supreme Court nomination: In seeking a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, President Obama indicated that he wanted to name someone in the Stevens mold. Among […]
An Important Case on Compensation for Takings
In recent years, the Supreme Court has addressed many cases on property rights issues. But it has done very little with the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which requires that owners be compensated when their property is condemned by the government. The longstanding rule has been that owners deserve “fair market value” compensation. […]
Last Atlantic Yards Property Owner Agrees to Sell His Land Under Threat of Condemnation
The last property owner in the condemned Atlantic Yards area of Brooklyn, New York has agreed to sell his land in order to avoid the condemnation of his property by the city government [HT: Josh Blackman]: The last man standing in front of the Atlantic Yards bulldozer has stepped aside. Daniel Goldstein — founder of […]
Can a State Use Eminent Domain to Take Federal Land?
Steve Bainbridge and co-blogger Eugene Volokh ask whether states are permitted to use eminent domain to take federal land. The question is occasioned by Utah’s recently enacted plan to condemn federal land within its territory. For reasons I discussed in this earlier post inspired by Utah’s plans, the answer is almost certainly no. Indeed, as […]
Utah May Try to Use Eminent Domain to Take Federal Government Land
The Utah House of Representatives recently enacted a law that would enable the state to seize federal land using its power of eminent domain (see also this shorter account) [HT: Edward Lopez]: Long frustrated by Washington’s control over much of their state, Utah legislators are proposing a novel way to deal with federal land — […]
Nicole Gelinas on Blight Condemnations in New York
By Ilya Somin on February 25, 2010 7:55 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Nicole Gelinas has an interesting article on the expansive use of “blight condemnations” in New York. As she points out, New York courts have defined blight so broadly that virtually any area can be designated as such, and then condemned. This has created massive opportunities for abuse by politically connected interest groups who can use […]