"Bollinger: Rich bully is getting his way" (NY Post)

Columbia2002
Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:41:08 +0000

I don’t want to get in the middle of this, but as I recall it from school, the Fifth Amendment recognizes the power of eminent domain, by requiring just compensation for the taking of private property for “public use”. The definition of public use in has become increasingly expansive as the Supreme Court has interpreted the power.



This is entirely correct. Public use now means “private use for some possible public purpose.” The Supreme Court latest 5-4 decision with respect to the public use clause was met with incredible backlash from the public, and numerous states have reacted by increasing state constitutional protections against the use of eminent domain.