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Eminent Domain: A Jewish Issue?
JewishPress.com, May 31, 2006 by Michael R. Paley
In the 2005 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Kelo v. New London Justice John Paul Stevens, in rationalizing the taking of private property for use by private developers – as opposed to the classical interpretation of the Fifth Amendment in which eminent domain may only be invoked if the confiscated land is to be taken for public use – wrote: "For more than a century, our public use jurisprudence has wisely eschewed rigid formulas and intrusive scrutiny in favor of affording legislatures broad latitude in determining what public needs justify the use of the takings power…. Promoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of government."
In other words, it may be assumed that government is better at determining how other people’s property should be used than the owners themselves. As predicted by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in her dissenting opinion, in which she rightfully criticizes the Court’s abandonment of the limitation on such government power, "Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner…. The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory…. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more."
Since the 2005 ruling, the threat of eminent domain, especially for the "redevelopment" of areas with an alleged dearth of ratables, has become commonplace. In brief, consider:
The full text of this article can be found at JewishPress.com.
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