U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Eminent Extortion Case for Review

Institute for Justice ^ | December 18, 2006

[JTN]

Holy smokes. Kelo on steroids.

[JTN]

Ping

[BipolarBob]

Hmmmm. The love of money is the root of all evil. I think that applies here.

[JTN]

If anyone knows of an eminent domain ping list, would you please alert the holder of that list?

[oblomov]

We are now well beyond the level of tyranny that drove our forefathers to rebel against the colonial authority. Will the American people wake up, or simply shrug and watch more reality TV?

[LibFreeOrDie]

"...the developer demanded $800,000 from Didden to make him “go away” or ordered Didden to give him an unearned 50 percent stake in the CVS development."

So now the courts are working for the Tony Sopranos of the world?

[Jaysun]

This is an outrage. A fair price is whatever someone is willing to pay, not what someone is forced to sell for. It stands to reason that it would come to this because the courts have been so wrong concerning the matter (just as they have been concerning abortion, privacy, and any number of things). Now they have to reconcile their absurd opinions with reality. It will be interesting to see their reaction, then compare it with that of abortion and "privacy", as it were.

[longtermmemmory]

The fact there was blatent extortion shocks the conscience. The cold fact is that much of this type of extortion has been going on for years it is just nobody has paid attention.

I wish there would be CRIMINAL investigations for these extortion efforts.

[ConservativeMind]

Actually, I just want to see that hotel group attempt to retake Judge Souter's house.

I'd pay to sleep on his eminent domained property.

[longtermmemmory]

The shocking part is this was PAY US TO GO AWAY!

It was literally protection money in the worst mobster format.

[aruanan]

With the blessing of officials from the Village of Port Chester, the Village’s chosen developer approached Didden and his partner with an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Don't people often end up in dumpsters over stuff like this?

[mware]

I remember when the SCOTUS ruling came out regarding Kelo, all I could say was, "My God, and I am from New Jersey."

[arthurus]

It is a logical progression. From here a logical next step is the government paying nothing for expropriated land because with the government's interest becoming known the land cannot be sold and therefore has no market value and the government pays market value (as determined by the government).

[Farmer Dean]

The fact that an Appeals Court doesn't seem to know the definition of extortion is well,troubling.

[Obie Wan]

Kelo, a travesty of the pinciples of our Constitution !!!

[Jaysun]

The shocking part is this was PAY US TO GO AWAY!

It was literally protection money in the worst mobster format.

Let this straw be of the camel back breaking kind.

[sionnsar]

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this extortion

The constitution's been dead for some time now. What's the big surprise?

[JTN]

So now the courts are working for the Tony Sopranos of the world?

I've sometimes thought in the past that the libertarian rhetoric you sometimes hear about the government basically being the legalized mafia was over the top. Now, not so much. This is friggin' outrageous.

[JTN]

The fact that an Appeals Court doesn't seem to know the definition of extortion is well,troubling.

I haven't read the ruling, but apparently the court ruled that Kelo is the relevant case law. The sad thing is, the are probably right.

[freedomfiter2]

The very fact that we have to ask the highest court in the land for such a ruling underscores how precarious and threatening things are getting for ordinary American landowners.”


Our forefathers won their freedoms by telling the judges where the boundaries were. As long as we are asking, the boundaries will keep getting smaller.