State is tops in eminent domain Process abused, study contends Maryland governments led the nation in the use of the power of eminent domain to seize residents' homes and small businesses to promote private development projects over the past five years, according to a report issued by a nonprofit group. According to the District-based Institute for Justice, 1,237 Maryland properties, residential and business, were taken over or threatened by local governments to pursue development projects from 1998 to 2002. Eminent domain allows governments to take private property for public use, including projects such as highways and police stations, with...
