We don’t yet have the final results. But Virginia news radio station WINA 1070 is projecting that Question 1, the Virginia eminent domain reform referendum question, is going to pass by an “overwhelming” margin. For reasons I outlined here and here, this is an important improvement over the present Virginia constitution, which is one of […]
Archive | Property Rights
Some Key Referenda to Watch
By Ilya Somin on November 5, 2012 4:58 pm in Elections, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, War on Drugs
In addition to the presidential and congressional elections tomorrow, there are also some important referenda initiatives on the ballot in many states. They include several on issues of special interest to me and many VC readers: property rights and the War on Drugs. Here in Virginia, we have Question 1, which would strengthen protection for […]
Election Predictions
I wouldn’t take this prediction to the bank if I were a betting man. But, like co-blogger David Bernstein, I give Obama a slight edge, perhaps a 60-65 percent chance of victory. In the contest between national polls favoring Romney and battleground state polls favoring Obama, I give slightly greater credence to the latter. My […]
Throwing Civil Liberties to the Dogs?
Radley Balko has an interesting column noting the troubling implications of some of the arguments being made in the drug-sniffing dog cases currently before the Supreme Court. He points out that these dogs’ drug alerts are often unreliable because, in many cases, dogs seek to please their handlers rather than search out the truth. Thus, […]
Upcoming Speech on Virginia Eminent Domain Reform – With Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
By Ilya Somin on October 23, 2012 10:45 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
This Thursday at 6:30 PM, I will be speaking on property rights and eminent domain reform in Virginia at the Old Dominion Boat Club in Alexandria. I will be joined by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, or perhaps it is more correct to say that I will be joining the AG. The event is open […]
A Dubious Attack On Virginia Eminent Domain Reform Referendum Question 1
By Ilya Somin on October 20, 2012 12:15 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In Friday’s Washington Post, state legislators Scott Surovell and Linda Puller published an op ed attacking Question 1, the eminent domain reform referendum question that Virginians will vote on in November. Unfortunately, their arguments are off-base, and some are seriously misleading. Question 1 would amend Virginia’s Constitution to forbid economic development takings of the kind […]
Thoughts on the Virginia Eminent Domain Reform Referendum Question
By Ilya Somin on October 16, 2012 4:24 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Various people have asked me what I think of Virginia Question 1, the eminent domain reform referendum question that will be on the ballot in November. Question 1 is one of many eminent domain reform referendum questions developed as part of the political backlash against the Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New […]
Supreme Court Decides to Hear Important Regulatory Takings Case
The Supreme Court has just decided to hear an important regulatory takings case, St. Johns River Waste Management District v. Koontz. Paul Beard of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the property owner, has a helpful summary of the case: Coy A. Koontz wants to develop commercial land, most of which lies within a […]
Today’s Oral Argument in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States
The transcript of today’s oral argument in the important Supreme Court takings case of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States is now available here. I discussed the issues in the case in this post. Legal reporter Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire interprets the oral argument as going badly for the federal government: A majority […]
Tomorrow’s Important Takings Case Before the Supreme Court
Although it may be lost in the shuffle of more highly publicized cases, tomorrow the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States, the most important regulatory takings case in a long time. In this case, the US Army Corps of Engineers inflicted extensive damage on a […]
Using Eminent Domain to Take Property For Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting article on the use of eminent domain to forcibly acquire land for universities. It quotes various scholars and commentators on the subject, including yours truly: At a time when public university leaders regularly point to the advantages that private institutions have enjoyed over them in recent years […]
Property Rights Panel at the Cato Institute’s Constitution Day
Next Tuesday from 1 to 2:15 PM, I will be speaking at a panel on “Increasing Protections for Property Rights” at the Cato Institute’s Constitution Day. We will be covering the Court’s most recent property rights decisions, and also considering prospects for the future. Despite the recent unusual unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA (which […]
The Takings Clause and Government Destruction of Homeless Persons’ Property
Co-blogger Orin Kerr comments on the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision holding that a Los Angeles policy allowing the seizure of briefly unattended property belonging to the homeless violates the Fourth Amendment’s ban on “unreasonable” seizures. It’s worth noting that the policy also violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which requires government to pay […]
The Rise of Asset Forfeiture Abuse
By Ilya Somin on August 23, 2012 4:55 pm in Asset Forfeiture, Due Process Clause Property Rights, Property Rights
Co-blogger Orin Kerr describes a planned effort by one local government to raise revenue by increasing asset forfeitures through the use of drug-sniffing dogs. Unfortunately, this is just one example of a growing trend of using asset forfeiture as a fundraising tool for law enforcement agencies. In this recent post, I rounded up many sources […]
Two-Year Sentences for Punk Rockers’ Unauthorized Anti-Putin Performance in Russian Cathedral
The Washington Post reports: Russian authorities sentenced three feminist punk rockers to two years in prison Friday [on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred] …. [T]he women [had] dashed into Moscow’s main cathedral to sing a song directed against Vladimir Putin ….. The video includes a brief clip of the performance. Press accounts suggest […]