Justice Kennedy Screws Up (Again)
In Kelo v City of New London, a case that attempted to limit eminent domain seizures to those for public purposes, the court's liberal bloc, joined by Justice Kennedy, ruled 5-4 that eminent domain can be used for any purpose that provides any indirect benefit to the public, even if the direct beneficiary is a private party.
So, if the city thinks that expanding the GM factory parking lot will enhance city revenue, they can take your home or business and give the land to GM. Expect to see more of this, along with seizures of church and other tax-exempt property, given that changing status from tax-exempt to taxable is of clear benefit to city coffers.
Novel uses for this new power:
- racial integration -- seize every 10th house in a neighborhood and sell it at a discount to underrepresented minorities.
- Wal-Mart removal -- got an annoying business competitor? Make a claim that everyone would be better off without them, and use city money to get rid of them.
- Individual removals -- there are probably people your town could do without, such as that city council gadfly. Buy his house and move him out!
These might be a bit fanciful, but I'll bet you that something like this brings the case back to the Court, when it's hopefully reversed. Consider that Justice O'Connor dissented on principle here. If she can find princple on an issue, god knows others can.
Kelo was brought by the
Institute for Justice, which can always use your help.
UPDATE: According to Justice Stevens:
"It is not for the courts to oversee the choice of the boundary line nor to sit in review on the size of a particular project area." Why not? The courts do this here in Los Angeles on nearly every commerical development. Does the participation of a government entity preclude judicial review of commerical projects? If so, this is going to get a lot more popular among developers....
UPDATE 2: Lots of reaction, all linked at
Arguing with Signposts
UPDATE 3: I wonder if, in California, a county could start condemning Prop-13 advantaged properties and then resell them at market, with the "public purpose" of increasing their taxable value. Just a thought.
Posted by Kevin Murphy at June 23, 2005 08:34 AM