High Court: Govts Can Take Property for Econ Development

Bloomberg News

[Helmholtz]

U.S. Supreme Court says cities have broad powers to take property.

[Christian4Bush]

Order 66? Okay, I'll admit it...you lost me on that one! :)

Did you see Revenge of the Sith?

[rushmom]

I love the President, but he's not one to be confrontational when it comes to political enemies.

[jpsb]

Well this one does it for me, I now consider the SC an enemy of the US Constitution, the US Constitution is the law of the land, the oligarchy under which we find ourself is not a legitimate government.

[JimmyMc]

Wasn't it Carol King who sang 'tear down the trees, put up a parking lot.'
Now the High Court say 'tear down private homes and put up a shopping mall.' All in the name of cities and states greed for more taxes. Guess we just don't pay enough in property taxes.
This is a low blow to the ordinary citizen.

[JerseyHighlander]

Peasants of China.

We the people of the US, now have the same limited number of futile avenues of redress against undue government confiscation seizure and eminent domain tyranny as peasants in China.

City councils can now condemn and take through eminent domain entire communities, openly flouting their immunity to prosecution. I know of a city council that has been waiting on this decision, they want to evict 1200+ people from a neighborhood, for redevelopment.

And like peasants in China, our only options when targeted by the government will be emotional pleas to the media, or court proceedings to beg for 75 cents on the dollar instead of 10 cents on the dollars for our properties.

Stop using the phrases "private property", and "real estate", and start using appropriate language, "privately leased government owned land, lease bought out at government's discretion", or "residential and commercial sharecropping." Property taxes are your yearly lease, eminent domain proceedings your eviction notice, and the cents on the dollar the government entity graces you with at the closing is your payment for improvements to the land and structures.

Renters in some states now have more rights to fight an eviction form their landlord then property/home owners have fighting eminent domain proceedings by government entities. At least commercial victims of eminent domain will be able to evaulate their cost basis to decide if dragging out their buy out values in court are worth it or not.

City councils are going to be bribed constantly, continuously, forever, by land developers and corporations wanting to reclaim urban zones, taxpayers who footed the bill for decades will be constantly screwed over by city councils, forever,

Government owns the casino, employs the cheating dealer, fixes the deck, cheats the deal, and steals the pot.

Urban New Jersey is about to become a real estate war zone.

[pepperhead]

What's new about this is that they can now grab land to build stuff for private business.

[mysterio]

Proving once again that the supreme court justices do not understand the Constitution, or they feel it is "elastic."

And yet, we still keep voting for the same two parties that appoint these justices.

[Eagle of Liberty]

The five distinguished judges were:

Stevens
Kennedy
Souter
Ginsburg
Breyer

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/23/scotus.property.ap/index.html

[AntiGuv]

And yet, we still keep voting for the same two parties that appoint these justices.

I imagine the outcome would be different if seven of the nine were appointed by Libertarians instead of Republicans.. ;^)

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Why is this so shocking? We really don't own property anyway...we lease it from the county governments in the form of property taxes. We pay a real estate transfer tax when we lease it and terminate the lease. Yeah...this stinks...its stunk for the last few decades...glad some have taken notice.

[truthluva]

Sounds like the liberal judges have found their response to Bush's desire for an "ownership society". Whatever we own is now subject to whim of local governments and the private investors who feed them.

[RightWhale]

What ever happened to basing decisions on THE CONSTITUTION??

Property rights are not given explicitly in the Constitution. They are implicit only in the 4th and 5th Amendments. Property rights come through the State through the legal system.

[Dat Mon]

You said..."Its what we get for worshipping economic growth..."

AMEN. Let me expand on this a bit....amd make an analogy with the oft quoted refrain regarding freedom and security.


My analogy is that if you have to sacrifice constitutional principles and the rule of law for prosperity (economic development)...eventually you will end up with neither.

[MamaTexan]

Nope...I'm Sith-ly challenged!

But if it means opening an industrial size can of Whup-ass,

I'm all for it!

:)

[adam_az]

You heat up the tar, I'll get some feathers and a spool of sisal.

I'm furious.

[RFEngineer]

"Would you want to invest in private property anymore, knowing the government could swoop in and steal it at any time, for any reason??"

This is likely to backfire on cities big time. They have visions of turning slums into class A commercial real estate, but they are likely to turn class A real estate into slums as land owners flee.

[AmishDude]

That wouldn't have been effected by this ruling. It's always been the case that the government could use emminent domain for public projects -- highways, public buildings and sometimes stadiums and other public works projects. Your property would be in jeopardy due to this ruling if you lived next to a "development district".

[RightWhale]

This is reality. Maybe reality stinks. It is no wonder they won't even consider property rights in outer space.

[boofus]

Stevens Kennedy Souter Ginsburg Breyer

Those black robed tyrants should be removed from office by any means necessary. Their ruling implies that some people's rights are more important than other people's. The very definition of tyranny and aristocracy, the very thing the founders tried to avoid through the Constitution. If those tyrants can not be removed through peaceful means... then the founders knew what it would take.