A Supreme Use of Eminent Domain (Effort to Seize Justice David Souter's home)

Granddaddy Long Legs ^

[cchandler]

One of the most surprising recent rulings by Supreme Court was its split decision in the case of Kelo vs. New London. If you are somehow unaware of the particulars, click here for the entire story. But for our purposes, we'll just hit the high points:

Susette Kelo dreamed of owning a home that looked out over the water. She purchased and lovingly restored her little pink house where the Thames River meets the Long Island Sound in 1997, and has enjoyed the great view from its windows ever since. The Dery family, down the street from Susette, has lived in Fort Trumbull since 1895; Matt Dery and his family live next door to his mother and father, whose parents purchased their house when William McKinley was president. The richness and vibrancy of this neighborhood reflects the American ideal of community and the dream of homeownership.

Tragically, the City of New London [Connecticut] is turning that dream into a nightmare.

In 1998, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer built a plant next to Fort Trumbull and the City determined that someone else could make better use of the land than the Fort Trumbull residents. The City handed over its power of eminent domain - the ability to take private property for public use - to the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), a private body, to take the entire neighborhood for private development. As the Fort Trumbull neighbors found out, when private entities wield government's awesome power of eminent domain and can justify taking property with the nebulous claim of "economic development," all homeowners are in trouble.

[cchandler]

I love the reason that he gave for Soutor's home being the best location for a hotel: It is a self-fulfilling prophecy that the hotel will draw tourists and raise tax revenue because the location was seized from Justice Soutor.

Classic!

[kellynla]

BTTT