The ABA Journal has an interesting and generally well-written article on the political backlash sparked by Kelo v. City of New London, the controversial Supreme Court decision that ruled that government can forcibly transfer property from one private individual to another to promote "economic development." As journalist Steven Seidenberg, author of the new article, points out, Kelo led to an unprecedentedly broad political reaction, with 43 states and the federal government passing new legislation limiting eminent domain. However, the majority of these new laws are likely to be ineffective, a point I documented in great detail my forthcoming Minnesota Law Review article on the Kelo backlash.

I have a few minor quibbles with Seidenberg's account. For example, he describes California's Proposition 99 as a measure that prevents "government entities in the state from taking a single-family residence and then transferring it to another private owner." In reality, as I explained in this LA Times article, Prop 99 doesn't provide any meaningful protection for property rights of any kind, and was probably deliberately drafted that way by the California League of Cities, a organization of local governments that seeks to preserve broad eminent domain power.

Overall, however, Seidenberg's piece is one of the best media summaries of post-Kelo eminent domain reform that I have seen. And I don't say that just because he quoted me several times; he also cites other experts who have different views on recent developments in eminent domain law.