Timothy Sandefur produces important research on economic liberty. I’m pleased that the Independence Institute, where I work, recently hosted an event for him to promote his book. I’m also happy that he has become part of the team of Cato Institute writers, which I have been part of since 1988. As a contributing editor of Liberty, I […]
Archive | Property Rights
Being Forced to Pay For Your Own Rights
I’m currently working on a case in why my clients were forced to give up their right to vote in exchange for a building permit. Yes, really. In California, homeowners have a constitutional right to vote on certain kinds of property taxes called “assessments” (which differ from taxes in that they pay for improvements to […]
Talk on Kelo and Eminent Domain at Lewis & Clark Law School
By Ilya Somin on October 10, 2010 3:23 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
For those who might be interested, I will be speaking at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon tomorrow. The topic is my work on Kelo v. City of New London and post-Kelo eminent domain reform. I will also touch briefly on post-Kelo developments in state constitutional law on public use issues, including the […]
On Catch Shares and Jane Lubchenco
Ron Arnold attacked Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for seeking to impose industry-killing restrictions on fishing off the New England coast. Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute rose to Lubchenco and the Obama Administration’s defense, arguing out that the industry’s woes are a legacy of fishery mismanagement and […]
Is it Unconstitutional for DC Police to Enforce the Property Rights of Muslims Who Segregate Women in their Religious Institutions?
By Ilya Somin on September 16, 2010 10:00 pm in Property Rights, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
Back in June, I wrote a post defending the actions of the DC authorities who enforced the property rights of Muslim traditionalists who expelled several women from the local Islamic Center for trying to worship next to men. As an atheist and a libertarian, I have little sympathy for their views. However, a free society […]
Is the Judicial Takings Issue Headed Back to the Supreme Court?
Just three months ago, in the Stop the Beach Renewal case, the Supreme Court split 4-4 over the question of whether a decision by a state court could violate constitutional property rights in a way that amounts to a “taking” requiring compensation under the Fifth Amendment. Recently, the Montana Supreme Court issued a decision in […]
Three Issues in the Debate over the “Ground Zero Mosque”
By Ilya Somin on August 31, 2010 1:41 am in Property Rights, Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, War on Terror
The ongoing debate over the “Ground Zero Mosque” has generated lots of commentary. But I fear that much of it conflates three separate issues: whether the government should use its power to block the construction of the mosque, whether the construction of any Islamic facility near Ground Zero is objectionable, and whether this particular organization […]
Property Rights, Eminent Domain, and the “Ground Zero Mosque”
By Ilya Somin on August 23, 2010 11:02 pm in Eminent Domain, Property Rights, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
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 […]
Survey Article on Last 25 Years of Supreme Court Property Rights Decisions Looking for a New Home
NOTE: I have re-posted this because the original version was posted close to the start of the weekend, and it’s possible some potentially interested parties may have missed it. Back in 2008, I wrote a survey article on the last 25 years of Supreme Court property rights decisions. It was originally commissioned for an edited […]
A Coasean Approach to Wind Farms
Wind farms sound like a great idea, until you have to live next to one — wind turbines can make a fair amount of noise. For this reason, some residents of eastern Oregon were not too happy when a wind developer came knocking. In some places, this would lead to a pitched political battle. But […]
“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 […]
Intro Property Class Bleg
This fall I will be teaching Introduction to Property for the first time since Fall 2008. I think I would be remiss if I didn’t include something about the mortgage crisis that contributed to the more general economic crisis of that year. So I have a request to my fellow property professors and other relevant […]
Property Rights in Rings of Power
Co-blogger Ken Anderson asks my opinion on property rights in Rings of Power. I refer Ken and other interested readers to my thorough May 2008 post on this subject, which includes links to some of the other commentary on this important issue. Nasty Hobbitses have no property rightses in our Preciouss!
Property Rights for Deities?
Co-blogger Eugene Volokh links to an Indian newspaper article about a ruling concerning the property rights of Hindu gods. According to the article, Hindu deities are allowed to acquire at least some types of property rights under Indian law, though perhaps “only deities of registered public trusts were allowed to acquire property in their names.” […]
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 […]