Posted: 02/25/2005
New London Decision Important For Property Rights
Supreme Court Ruling Will Have Broader Implications for Government Seizures
DALLAS (February 25, 2005) – U.S. Supreme Court justices are due to decide soon whether city government in New London, Conn., can condemn a working-class neighborhood under eminent domain. The city condemned the properties, which have a waterfront view of the Thames River, so a private developer could build higher-priced houses and commercial properties.
“Private property should only be taken for public use with just compensation,” said NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett. “Public use has traditionally been and still should be defined as military bases, highways, schools and other goods and services that a market would not provide.”
But the ruling in the New London case will have much broader implications. Justices are also considering a case arising from use of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to divert irrigation water in Central Valley, Calif., in order to protect two threatened species of fish. Farmers there have sued, arguing that they should be compensated.
A 1954 Supreme Court ruling allows cities to condemn property for private development, but property rights supporters have won several recent lower court victories. In addition, urban and suburban residents, like those in New London, are finding allies among rural landowners, like those in Central Valley, who are linking eminent domain seizures and misuse of the ESA to other kinds of government intrusion on property interests.
“The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is very clear,” Dr. Burnett said. “If the public, through its government is unwilling to pay compensation, then perhaps the cause for seizing the land isn’t truly a public purpose.”