It was one year ago today that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Kelo v. City of New London approving the use of eminent domain for economic redevelopment on a scale not before seen. The reaction to that decision was swift and immediate from all sides of the political aisle. Legislation was introduced on the state, national, and local level to curb the power of governement entities to take property for a private use as had been done by the City of New London. Today, on that one year anniversary, the Institute for Justice, which represented the homeowners in Kelo has releated a series of publications on the state of eminent domain law one year after the decision.
In some respects, the news, as expected, is bad:
Consider this fact: in just the past year, more than 5,700 properties nationwide have been threatened by or taken with eminent domain for private development?a figure that compares with more than 10,000 examples over a five-year period preceding the Kelo argument, according to one of five reports released today by the Institute for Justice (which argued the Kelo case before the U.S. Supreme Court) and its grassroots activism project, the Castle Coalition.
And the predictions of the dissenters seem to be coming true:
Justice O?Connor predicted that in the wake of the decision, any Motel 6 could be taken for a Ritz-Carlton, any home for a shopping mall, and any farm for a factory. As documented in Opening the Floodgates, her predictions are coming true?cities are pushing out motels for commercial development and replacing small businesses with upscale hotels. Homes are being replaced by shopping malls, but the stronger trend has been the replacement of middle-class residences for other, more upscale ones. Agricultural land has been taken for still more retail development.
But there is cause for hope:
Coupled with this increase in eminent domain abuse, however, has been a virtually unprecedented grassroots and legislative response to the most universally despised Supreme Court ruling in recent memory
That fact alone, and the near universal negative reaction to Kelo when it came out last year, have given me hope that the spirit of liberty is still strong in America.
More coverage of the anniversary at Windypundit
