Kelo, 4 years on

Goverment Attorneys and libertarians alike recall that four years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the condemnation of property for economic development in Kelo v. City of New London. The leaders of New London, CT, envisioned the replacement of a residential neighborhood with new condos and offices to enhance and support a nearby Pfizer facility. The court held that the city of New London was not prohibited from taking land from one private owner to turn it over to another in the name of this redevelopment project. This was a landmark eminent domain opinion which offended many Americans and touched off a wave of state-level legislation across the nation limiting the scope of condemnation powers. (In Florida, we amended the constitution to say that "private property taken by eminent domain ... after January 2, 2007, may not be conveyed to a natural person or private entity except as provided by general law passed by a three-fifths vote of the membership of each house of the Legislature.")

It was pointed out Wednesday, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece (which called the Kelo decision "one of the worst in recent years"), that Pfizer has decided to shut down its R&D headquarters in New London, CT, and the condemned neighborhood stands bulldozed and vacant.

While it sparked outrage, the Court's opinion may very well have been constitutionally sound, and, ultimately, the political process worked; the Kelo story helped to raise awareness and spur the legislative shift toward restricting condemnation powers. But that doesn't help Ms. Kelo.