Eminent domain

Eminent domain (US), compulsory purchase, (England and Wales) or compulsory acquisition (Australia) in common law legal systems is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owner's consent. The term eminent domain is used primarily in the United States, where the term was derived in the mid-19th Century from a legal treatise written by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius in 1625. The term compulsory purchase, also originating in the mid-19th Century, is used primarily in England and Wales, and other jurisdictions that follow the principles of English law. Originally, the power of eminent domain was assumed to arise from natural law as an inherent power of the sovereign.

United States

In the United States, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires that just compensation be paid when the power of eminent domain is used, and requires that "public use" of the property be demonstrated. Over the years the definition of "public use" has expanded to include economic development plans which use eminent domain seizures to enable commercial development for the purpose of generating more tax revenue for the local government. http://reclaimdemocracy.org/civil_rights/public_use_corporate_abuse.php Critics contend this perverts the intent of eminent domain law and tramples personal property rights.

Related Topics:
United States - Fifth Amendment - Economic development

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In 1981, in Michigan, the Michigan Supreme Court, building on the precedent set by Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=348&invol=26, permitted the neighborhood of Poletown to be taken in order to build a General Motors plant. Courts in other states relied on this decision, which was overturned in 2004 http://michiganimc.org/feature/display/6334/index.php, as precedent. This expansion of the definition was argued before the United States Supreme Court in February 2005 http://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/092904-a_new_take_on_eminen.php, in Kelo v. New London http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/04-108.htm. In June 2005, the Supreme Court issued their decision in favor of New London, in a narrow 5-4 ruling?a decision that gives local governments wide latitude to decide when a seizure is for "public purposes", including economic development. The court hinted, however, that states could pass laws limiting the purposes for which eminent domain could be used. The controversial ruling sparked a backlash among citizens, and several states either have or are in the process of passing laws limiting eminent domain to either traditional uses (roads and public buildings) or to eliminate blight.

Related Topics:
1981 - Michigan Supreme Court - Berman v. Parker - 348 U.S. 26 - 1954 - Poletown - General Motors - 2004 - United States Supreme Court - Kelo v. New London

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In other cases eminent domain has been used by communities to take control of planning and development. Such is the case of the Dudley Street Initiative http://www.dsni.org/, a community group in Boston which attained the right to eminent domain and have used it to reclaim vacant properties in the purpose of positive community development.

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