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December 8, 2008
The flexing of 'domain' power
the ticker [Baruch College]
by Ilda Rastoder
Fast-forward to the 21st century and the Supreme Court revisits the public use debate in the case of Kelo v New London in 2005, where the state used eminent domain "for the purposes of economic development."
The court ruled the use of eminent domain constitutional for private economic development, broadening the public use requirement, slightly altering its previous conservative position. Justice Stevens stated that a narrow definition of public use has "steadily eroded over time" and is "impractical given the diverse and always evolving needs of society." After being tested by the Berman, Midkiff and Kelo cases, eminent domain has given the green light to private developers such as Bruce Ratner and Columbia University to pursue their "public" expansion projects.
NoLandGrab: And, man oh man, does society ever need a new billion-dollar basketball arena.
Posted by eric at December 8, 2008 1:27 PM