Starr International, a firm headed by former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, has recently sued the federal government, claiming that some provisions of the 2008 AIG bailout violated AIG shareholders’ constitutional rights (Starr was a major AIG shareholder at the time of the bailout). One of the claims Starr has advanced is that the takeover violated […]
Archive | Property Rights
The Political Battle Over Eminent Domain Reform in Virginia
By Ilya Somin on November 26, 2011 10:50 am in Eminent Domain, Political Ignorance, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Virginia was one of several states that enacted a strong eminent domain reform law after the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that it was permissible for government to take private property and transfer it to other private individuals in order to promote economic development. Supporters of the Virginia law are […]
How the War on Drugs Creates Perverse Incentives for Police
By Ilya Somin on November 25, 2011 10:59 pm in Asset Forfeiture, Criminal Law, Property Rights, War on Drugs
Radley Balko has an interesting piece at Huffington Post on the ways in which the War on Drugs creates perverse incentives for police departments: Arresting people for assaults, beatings and robberies doesn’t bring money back to police departments, but drug cases do in a couple of ways. First, police departments across the country compete for […]
Justice Stevens on Kelo
By Ilya Somin on November 16, 2011 3:59 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, retired Justice John Paul Stevens defended his controversial majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London, which ruled that it was permissible for government to condemn private property for transfer to private parties in order to promote “economic development.” The Court ruled that this was a permissible […]
Justice Stevens Defends Kelo
The WSJ‘s Jess Bravin reports on an interview with recently retired Justice John Paul Stevens in which he defended his “most unpopular opinion” — Kelo v. New London — from recent criticism by Justice Antonin Scalia (see here and here). “It’s the most unpopular opinion I ever wrote, no doubt about it,” Justice Stevens said […]
My Op Ed on the Passage of Mississippi Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on November 9, 2011 3:39 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Today, I published an op ed in the Daily Caller on the passage of Mississippi referendum Measure 31, an important eminent domain reform law. Here is an excerpt: The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London generated a record political backlash. Kelo upheld the condemnation of private property for transfer to […]
Mississippi Measure 31 Passes
Mississippi Measure 31 – the important eminent domain reform initiative – has passed, probably by an overwhelming margin. Although the returns are not yet completely in, the “yes” side has 74% of the vote with almost 65% of precincts reporting. I outlined the case for Measure 31 here. The overwhelming support for the measure is […]
Vote Yes on Mississippi Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on November 7, 2011 7:37 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Tomorrow, Mississippi voters will decide the fate of Measure 31, an important eminent domain reform proposal. Mississippi is one of only seven states that has not enacted any eminent domain reforms at all since the Supreme Court’s decision controversial decision upholding “economic development” takings in Kelo v. City of New London. Measure 31 would effectively […]
Levy Itzhak Rosenbaum Becomes First Person Convicted of Brokering Kidney Sales in the US
Brooklyn resident Levy Itzhak Rosenbaum recently became the first person convicted of brokering the sale of kidneys in the United States [HT: George Mason law student Michael Mortorano]. The real tragedy here is not what Rosenbaum did, but the fact that organ sales are illegal to begin with. Legalizing them would save thousands of lives […]
Scalia Predicts that Kelo Will be Overruled
In a recent public appearance, Justice Antonin Scalia predicted that Kelo v. City of New London will eventually be overruled, perhaps soon [HT: George Mason law student Michael Mortorano]: Scalia predicted the court’s 2005 “Kelo” decision saying local governments can take take property from one owner to give to a developer will be reversed someday. […]
A Real Live Violation of the Third Amendment
The Third Amendment, which forbids the quartering of troops in private homes without the owner’s consent, is often the butt of jokes. Few people take seriously the possibility that it could be violated. However, law professor Tom Bell has a forthcoming article about a neglected – and tragic – historical case where the federal government […]
Federalism and Property Regulation Revisited
In an insightful recent post at Land Use Prof Blog, Adam MacLeod takes property scholars to task for neglecting issues of constitutional federalism: When prominent, accomplished land use scholars discuss federalism why do they pay so little attention to the United States Constitution? However one views the desirability of any particular attempt by Congress to […]
Speech at University of Mississippi School of Law on Eminent Domain Referendum Initiative Measure 31
By Ilya Somin on October 6, 2011 3:07 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
On Monday, October 10, I will be speaking at the University of Mississippi School of Law on a Mississippi eminent domain reform referendum initiative, Measure 31 (which is on the ballot this November). The talk is sponsored by the University of Mississippi Federalist Society, and will begun at 12:30 PM in Room 2094. Mississippi is […]
The Tragedy of Urban Renewal
Reason TV has a short but interesting video about the urban renewal era of the 1950s and 60s, when hundreds of thousands of people – mostly poor minorities – were forcibly displaced from their homes by eminent domain. As the video notes, often the land was transferred to politically connected developers and other influential interest […]
George Mason ACS Supreme Court Preview Panel
By Ilya Somin on September 26, 2011 10:15 am in Constitutional Law, Due Process Clause Property Rights, Property Rights
On Tuesday, I will be appearing at a Supreme Court preview panel sponsored by the George Mason University School of Law American Constitution Society. The other two presenters are Prof. Michael Seidman (Georgetown) and Prof. Stephen Vladeck (American). The panel will start at 4 PM, and take place in Room 221 at the George Mason […]