The Constitutional issue at stake is indeed the 5th Amendment right of the government to seize private property under the legal theory of eminent domain. What is at issue is whether the 5th Amendment allows for seizure of private property on behalf of private entities such as property developers.
The Court ruled that the government could exercise the right of eminent domain on behalf of a private entity, if the proposed project could be demonstrated to be of benefit to the public. The Court also left discretion of what constitutes "benefit to the public" up to local jurisdictions, a stance which, in my mind, leaves this ruling wide open to abuse at the local government level. Imagine this. Donald Trump wants to develop a chunk of the West Side of Manhattan, but a handful of homeowners don't want to sell to him. Under this ruling, Trump can argue to the city government that his project will be a benefit to the city, and the city can then turn around and seize their property (paying them fair market value, of course) to let the project move forward. Who is the Mayor going to listen to- a handful of small property owners, or Trump? This is bad news for individual property rights. Basically, a big-shot developer can now come in and have your house seized without your consent. That's just BS. > Dawson, Michael wrote: > > If the order comes from the top, it can't be appealed to a higher > court. > > That is a consequence, not the reason. Which part of the Constitution > makes this a Federal matter? The closest I see is the 5th Amendment > based on which one could ask a Federal court to review if due process > was followed and to review if the compensation was just. But I don't > see how a Federal court could judge the merits of the case. > Jochem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:161823 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
