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Eminent domain
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Charlie Buttrey
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Mar 04, 2004 15:40 PST
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Tony, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, among
other things, that private property shall not be taken for public use
without just compensation. You can do all the research in the world that
you wish, but it will not change that constitutional imperative. This
"generic phrase" (as you put it) has been consistently applied by the
federal courts over the last two centuries to means exactly what it says:
anytime a governmental entity takes property for a public use it must
compensate the owner for the value of the property. This is about as well
settled a principal of constitutional law as exists. Most of the case law
around eminent domain in recent years has revolved around whether
governmental regulations which adversely affect on one's ability to develop
one's land to its highest and best use require compensation.
There are any number of ways to address the issue of governance at Thetford
Academy; eminent domain, however, is not one of them.
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