As part of his plan to address California’s fiscal crisis, liberal Democratic Governor Jerry Brown has proposed abolishing California’s 400 local “redevelopment agencies,” which would save the state some $1.7 billion per year, an important step towards closing the state’s $25 billion annual deficit. Unfortunately, his plan has so far been stymied by opposition from […]
Archive | Property Rights
Two Important New Eminent Domain Cases
Ilya Shapiro (no relation) has a good post detailing two important new eminent domain cases. Both are being contested by the Institute for Justice, the libertarian public interest law firm that litigated Kelo v. City of New London and many other important property rights cases. The National City case from California is yet another egregious […]
Fordham Law School Conference on Eminent Domain in New York
This Friday, I will be speaking at an academic conference on eminent domain in New York at Fordham Law School, 140 W. 62nd Street. The event is sponsored by the Fordham Urban Law Journal. My panel will be at 10 AM, and I will be speaking about the New York Court of Appeals controversial recent […]
Duke Symposium on Judicial Takings
This Friday, I will be speaking at a symposium on judicial takings at Duke Law School, sponsored by the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy. The symposium is open to both students and the public, and the schedule is available here. Among the other participants are leading property and constitutional law scholars such […]
Upcoming Talks in Madison, Wisconsin on the Individual Mandate and Property Rights
By Ilya Somin on January 24, 2011 10:06 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Federalism, Federalist Society, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
This Wednesday, I will be giving two talks in Madison, Wisconsin. One, sponsored by the Federalist Society Lawyers Division, will be at a panel on the Obamacare individual mandate litigation. The other two panelists are Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen (Wisconsin recently became one of the 28 states challenging the mandate in court) and […]
Adam Levitin on the New Massachusetts Court Foreclosure Decision
By Kenneth Anderson on January 12, 2011 1:48 pm in Economy, Finance, Financial Crisis, Property Rights
(Update. Megan McArdle has a number of interesting comments and posts on foreclosure, modification, the effect of securitization, and the processes for recording title and other things. This blog post has very interesting comments as well.) Adam Levitin writes at the ForeclosureBlues blog about the Ibanez decision in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (pdf […]
Somin Family Featured in December 2010 Issue of Engage
By Ilya Somin on December 30, 2010 10:45 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Sports and Games
The December 2010 issue of Engage features not one but two items written by members of the Somin family: a debate on Kelo v. City of New London and eminent domain reform between University of Chicago Law Professor (and former Dean) Saul Levmore and myself; and an article on Title IX and women’s sports written […]
Cato Unbound Forum on Property Rights Continues
The Cato Unbound forum on property rights and the state, which I blogged about on Monday, is continuing. Lead author Daniel Klein has now replied to the response essays submitted by commentators David Friedman, Matthias Matthijs, and myself. He responds to Matthijs and Friedman here, here, and here. Klein’s reply to me takes issue with […]
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Columbia University Takings Case
By Ilya Somin on December 15, 2010 1:02 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Sadly, the Supreme Court has refused to hear the Columbia University blight takings case. This New York state supreme court decision was a particularly egregious instance of the abuse of “blight” condemnations to take property that was not blighted in any meaningful sense and transfer it to a powerful private interest group. I wrote an […]
Cato Unbound Discussion on Property Rights and the State
The Cato Unbound website has organized a discussion of property rights and their relationship to the state. The lead essay is by economist Daniel Klein. Here is his main thesis: Libertarians and conservatives say that Obamacare forces you to buy health insurance. Folks of the left are apt to shrug at calling it force. If […]
How Private Property Saved the Pilgrims
Today is Thanksgiving. So it’s time for my annual post on how private property rights saved the Pilgrims. Economist Benjamin Powell tells the story here: Many people believe that after suffering through a severe winter, the Pilgrims’ food shortages were resolved the following spring when the Native Americans taught them to plant corn and a […]
New Survey Data on Public Attitudes Towards Kelo and Economic Development Takings
By Ilya Somin on November 23, 2010 5:53 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Political Ignorance, Polls, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Kelo v. City of New London, which ruled that government has the power to forcibly transfer property from one private owner to another in order to promote “economic development,” was one of the most unpopular decisions in the history of the Supreme Court. Polls conducted soon after the decision was issued in 2005 found that […]
Important Texas Supreme Court Opinion Protecting Beachfront Property Rights
The Texas Supreme Court recently issued an important opinion protecting the property rights of beachfront property owners. Matt Festa of Land Use Prof Blog has a helpful post discussing the case, and providing numerous relevant links: The Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion today in Severance v. Patterson, a case that the Fifth Circuit certified […]
Our Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to hear the Columbia University “Blight” Takings Case
By Ilya Somin on October 28, 2010 10:58 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
I recently wrote an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the Columbia University blight takings case, on behalf of the Institute for Justice (the public interest law firm that litigated Kelo v. City of New London, among many other important property rights cases), The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the Cato Institute. […]
Vampire Slayers and the Law
Co-blogger Eugene Volokh recently referenced some criminal laws relating to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In this 2007 post, I considered the implications of the show for property rights and “quick take” condemnations. Unlike Eugene, I managed to incorporate Faith into my legal analysis as well. As I pointed out, eminent domain abuse is an excellent […]