I started out legal life in California, clerking for the California Supreme Court and, already being a tax geek, was handed many of the state tax issues. So I have some familiarity with California’s tax law. It is complicated and in many policy aspects problematic, but also, to be clear as a lawyer, it is […]
Archive | Property Rights
The Wall Street Journal on Alvarez v. Smith
By Ilya Somin on October 25, 2009 7:33 pm in Criminal Law, Due Process Clause Property Rights, Property Rights, War on Drugs
The Wall Street Journal has an editorial urging the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the property owners in Alvarez v. Smith, an important property rights case that I have been trying to draw attention to for a long time (see my recent Findlaw column on it and previous posts on the subject here […]
My Findlaw Column on Alvarez v. Smith – A Key Property Rights Case Argued Before the Supreme Court Today
By Ilya Somin on October 14, 2009 3:12 pm in Due Process Clause Property Rights, Property Rights, Supreme Court
Findlaw has just posted a column I wrote on Alvarez v. Smith, an important Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause property rights case that was heard by the Supreme Court today: Today, the Supreme Court hears Alvarez v. Smith, an important case that will affect the constitutional property rights of many people around the country but […]
Elinor Ostrom and the Tragedy of the Commons
By Ilya Somin on October 12, 2009 11:08 pm in Collective Action Problems, Economy, Environment, Libertarianism, Property Rights, Regulation
I was very happy to hear about Elinor Ostrom’s Nobel Prize in Economics. Her work focuses on the tragedy of the commons and collective action problems, which overlaps several of my own research interests. When Ostrom began writing in this field in the 1960s, the conventional wisdom in economics and political science was that the […]
New York’s Highest Court to Hear Important Eminent Domain Case
By Ilya Somin on October 9, 2009 3:10 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The New York Court of Appeals – the state’s highest court -is about to consider an important property rights case, Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corporation. The case involves a challenge to the condemnation of large amounts of property for the purpose of transferring the land to influential developer Bruce Ratner, who plans […]
Does CHL ban in churches violate the First Amendment?
An opinion released today by the Arkansas Attorney General says “no.” Like most states, Arkansas allows adults to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun for lawful purposes, after passing a background check and safety class. Like a few states, Arkansas prohibits licensed carry in “Any church or other place of worship.” In short, the […]
New London’s Post-Kelo Rennaisance
Not so much. One of the Comments links to recent pictures of the site.
Goldstein v. Pataki and the Shortcomings of Kelo:
By Ilya Somin on February 1, 2008 11:27 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Uncategorized
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently decided Goldstein v. Pataki, a case challenging the condemnation of homes and other property in Brooklyn for the purpose of transferring them to developer Bruce Ratner, owner of the New Jersey Nets. Ratner plans to use the land to build a new stadium for the […]