On August 12, I testified at a US Commission on Civil Rights hearing on the “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Abuse.” The video of the oral testimony is available here. I have now made my more detailed written testimony available online here. Here is the Introduction, which includes a summary of the rest [footnotes […]
Archive | Property Rights
Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Apologizes to Susette Kelo for his Vote to Uphold the Condemnation of Her Home – But then Lets Himself off the Hook Too Easily
By Ilya Somin on September 19, 2011 8:34 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
In the Hartford Courant, journalist Jeff Benedict, author of a major account of the Kelo case, reports on an interesting encounter last year, where Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer apologized to Susette Kelo for voting to uphold the the taking of her home for “economic development” [HT: Cory Andrews]: If a state Supreme Court […]
Brooke Shields to Star in Movie Based on Kelo v. City of New London
The Hartford Courant reports that Brooke Shields will star as Susette Kelo in a TV movie based on the notorious Kelo v. City of New London property rights case [HT: Cory Andrews]. The movie will be based on Jeff Benedict’s excellent journalistic account of the case, Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and […]
Econ Journal Watch Symposium on Property Rights
Econ Journal Watch has an excellent symposium on property rights, including leading scholars such as Tom Merrill, Henry Smith, Robert Ellickson, Richard Epstein, and my colleagues Eric Claeys and Adam Mossoff. Here is the summary: Lawyers and social scientists often describe property as a “bundle of rights.” What are the connotations of “bundle”? What features […]
Let there be Blight – My New Article on Blight Condemnations in New York
My new article, “Let There Be Blight: Blight Condemnations in New York after Goldstein and Kaur” is now available on SSRN. It critiques the New York Court of Appeals’ recent controversial blight takings decisions in the Atlantic Yards and Columbia University eminent domain cases. It was part of a Fordham Urban Law Journal symposium on […]
Texas Supreme Court Forbids Taking of Land for Private Pipelines
In a potentially important recent decision, Texas Rice Land Partners v. Denbury Green Pipeline the Texas Supreme Court has invalidated the use of eminent domain for a private pipeline to be owned by an oil company. Gideon Kanner has some good commentary on the decision here. In Texas and many other states, public utilities and […]
New York City Bars Dogs from Bars
In New York, dogs can take the witness stand at a criminal trial. But at least in New York City, they’re not allowed to go into bars. NYC regulators recently banned dogs from bars, even those with outdoor seating areas and those that serve only beverages: [I]t has always been a violation of the city’s […]
Storms, Property Law, and Falling Trees
During storms like this weekend’s Hurricane Irene, trees and branches often fall from people’s yards into their neighbors. As a property professor, I sometimes get asked whether the person whose tree fell into their neighbor’s yard is liable for any resulting damage. The answer varies somewhat from state to state. But as a general rule, […]
US Commission on Civil Rights Hearing on the Impact of Eminent Domain on Minority Groups
By Ilya Somin on August 12, 2011 12:17 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Earlier today, I testified before the US Commission on Civil Rights at a hearing on the “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Abuse.” The other panelists were Georgetown law professor Peter Byrne, Hilary Shelton of the NAACP, and David Beito, a prominent historian and chair of the Alabama State Advisory Committee to the USSCR. A […]
Federalism and Property Rights
By Ilya Somin on August 10, 2011 9:26 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Federalism, Kelo, Property Rights
My recently published article “Federalism and Property Rights” is now available on SSRN. It’s part of the University of Chicago Legal Forum Symposium on Governance and Power. Here is the abstract: Both the Supreme Court and leading legal scholars have often cited federalism as a reason to severely limit federal judicial enforcement of constitutional property […]
Fifth Circuit Invalidates City Zoning Ordinance that Treats Churches Less Favorably than Similar Secular Land Uses
In its recent decision in Elijah Group v. City of Leon Valley, the federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated a city zoning ordinance that forbade churches in an area where very similar secular land uses are permitted. The court ruled that the ordinance violates the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons […]
My New Article on Judicial Takings
My new article, “Stop the Beach Renourishment and the Problem of Judicial Takings” is now available on SSRN. It is part of a symposium on judicial takings sponsored by the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy. Here is the abstract: Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection was the […]
The Judicial Reaction to Kelo
By Ilya Somin on May 31, 2011 5:43 pm in Blight, Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
My article “The Judicial Reaction to Kelo” is now available on SSRN. It is the Introduction to the Albany Government Law Review Symposium on Eminent Domain in the United States, which includes contributions by several well-known eminent domain scholars including my colleague Steve Eagle, Amy Lavine, and David Schultz, among others. Here is the abstract: […]
Allentown, PA Plans to Use Eminent Domain to Take Property for a Hockey Arena
By Ilya Somin on May 19, 2011 11:29 pm in Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Sports and Games
The city of Allentown, Pennsylvania plans to use eminent domain, or at least the threat of it, to forcibly acquire downtown property for the construction of a minor league hockey arena [HT: my father-in-law Bruce Schmauch, a longtime Allentown resident]: It was drop-the-gloves time in Allentown City Council chambers Wednesday night. A parade of downtown […]
A Victory for Property Rights in California “Blight” Case
By Ilya Somin on April 29, 2011 3:10 am in Blight, Eminent Domain, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
The Institute for Justice has won a victory in an important property rights case in National City California. The trial judge set aside the city’s “blight” designation of a massive area including almost 700 properties. Had the designation survived, it would have enabled the city to condemn any of these properties at will. Here is […]