'Fairness and Justice' Ought to Guide the Courts When Reviewing Legislative Determinations of 'Public Use'

摘要

On September 28, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review a case that has vast importance for land developers, private property owners, governments, redevelopment agencies, and others who are impacted by governmental redevelopment efforts: Kelo v. City of New London. No one doubts that the government has the power to take private property for public use so long as the government pays a property owner "just compensation" for that property. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly provides "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This means that the government may condemn private property for a public use, such as a highway or public park, so long as the landowner is paid just compensation.