Eminent Domain
I am dismayed by the latest Eminent Domain ruling from the US Supreme Court. (Click here for the complete ruling including the dessenting opinions from the judges) From what I read in various blogs, majority of people who know what it is and who care to pay attention are worried and even angered. While the Supremes don't always get it right, I did not expect them to make a mistake on such a pivotal issue.
Basically the issue is this. The fifth amendment of the
"... nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
It has long been interpreted as a safeguard against government seizing property from private party A only to give it to the benefit of private party B. Governments were however allowed to seize the private properties for public use. Constructing roads, schools, libraries, parks, government facilities etc were generally accepted as public use.
With governments encroaching on individuals rights for a long time now, they are stretching the definition of public use. In this particular case, the City of New London, Connecticut wants to seize the private properties of some residents and hand it over to private developers to develop a private shopping complex. Their justification of a private shopping mall as a public use is way too thin. The city government is simply after the increased tax revenue. The Supreme Court with a 5-4 majority, sided with the city and allowed them to seize the properties! It is a gross distortion of the private use clause and just plain unjust to the property owners. With this decision, any city can take anybody's property with the flimsiest of justification for their greed for increased tax revenue.
It is a shame. Private property rights is no less important than the free speech. I really hope the court sees the dangerous repercussion of their decision and gets a chance to reverse it before irreparable harm is done. If not, the congress should consider an appropriate amendment to the constitution to limit the damage. This is a far worthier cause to amend the constitution than the flag burning issue.
posted by Shan R Shanmuganathan at 12:25 AM
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HeHeHe.. Not a day late. Nice way to fight back.
Weare, New Hampshire (PRWEB) Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter? A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter's land...
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