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June 23, 2005

The Supreme Court F's up

In a ruling handed down this morning the Supreme Court said that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development.

The 5-4 ruling — assailed by dissenting Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as handing "disproportionate influence and power" to the well-heeled in America — was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.

Justice Stevens, writing for the majority, said that "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."

Hello!!! The plaintiffs weren't asking the court to oversee boundry lines or to sit in review on the size of anything! They were asking the courts to respect their constitutional right

Justice O'Conner issued a harsh dissent saying, "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

At stake was the 5th Amendment which allows governments to "condemn" (aka: take) private property via "eminent domain." But, only if the land is for public use.

Scott Bullock, an attorney for the Institute for Justice representing the families, summed today's ruling up succintly: "A narrow majority of the court simply got the law wrong today and our Constitution and country will suffer as a result."

Yep!

Posted by Kevin at June 23, 2005 09:11 AM