New from the University of Chicago Press:
The Grasping Hand: "Kelo v. City of New London" and the Limits of Eminent Domain, by
Ilya Somin (George Mason University School of Law). A description from the Press:
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the
city of New London, Connecticut, could condemn fifteen residential
properties in order to transfer them to a new private owner. Although
the Fifth Amendment only permits the taking of private property for
“public use,” the Court ruled that the transfer of condemned land to
private parti
es for
“economic development” is permitted by the Constitution—even if the
government cannot prove that the expected development will ever actually
happen. The Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London empowered the grasping hand of the state at the expense of the invisible hand of the market.
In this detailed study of one of the most controversial Supreme Court cases in modern times, Ilya Somin argues that Kelo
was a grave error. Economic development and “blight” condemnations are
unconstitutional under both originalist and most “living constitution”
theories of legal interpretation. They also victimize the poor and the
politically weak for the benefit of powerful interest groups and often
destroy more economic value than they create. Kelo itself
exemplifies these patterns. The residents targeted for condemnation
lacked the influence needed to combat the formidable government and
corporate interests arrayed against them. Moreover, the city’s poorly
conceived development plan ultimately failed: the condemned land lies
empty to this day, occupied only by feral cats. The Supreme Court’s
unpopular ruling triggered an unprecedented political reaction, with
forty-five states passing new laws intended to limit the use of eminent
domain. But many of the new laws impose few or no genuine constraints on
takings. The Kelo backlash led to significant progress, but not nearly as much as it may have seemed.
Despite its outcome, the closely divided 5-4 ruling shattered what many
believed to be a consensus that virtually any condemnation qualifies as
a public use under the Fifth Amendment. It also showed that there is
widespread public opposition to eminent domain abuse. With controversy
over takings sure to continue, The Grasping Hand offers the first
book-length analysis of Kelo by a legal scholar, alongside a broader
history of the dispute over public use and eminent domain and an
evaluation of options for reform.
A few blurbs:
"Somin's thorough rebuttal of the constitutional reasoning and philosophical implications of the Supreme Court's Kelo
decision demonstrates why that ruling was a constructive disaster: It
was so dreadful it has provoked robust defenses of the role of private
property in sustaining Americans' liberty." -- George F. Will
“The Grasping Hand is likely to be the definitive analysis of the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in the Kelo case. But Somin attends to much more than that. He sets out the political and doctrinal history that led up to Kelo
and critiques the legislative and judicial developments provoked by the
reaction to it. Somin has long been a champion of strong property
rights. What he has to say will be of value to those who share that
commitment and perhaps even more to those who don’t.” -- James E. Krier
More information is available
here.
