Eminent Domain in Connecticut
James Kilpatrick writes of eminent domain:
At the heart of these cases lies the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. In words every schoolboy can understand, the amendment says that government may not take private property for “public use” without payment of just compensation. The key words are “public use.” They are not difficult words. They are simple words. Their definition requires no law degrees.
Notice that the Constitution does not speak gauzily of “public purpose” or “public benefit.” It speaks with perfect clarity of “public use.” Except for the power to declare war, the power of eminent domain is the most essential and most dangerous of all powers vested in government. It is perilous precisely because it is most often employed by good men seeking to do good.
In New London, Connecticut, the city wants to buy the property of Mrs. Kelo and turn it over to private developers:
The New London Development Corp., a public entity, wants to grab 90 acres of absolutely unoffending property. The middle-income owners would be compensated, the land would be cleared and private developers would do what private developers do. They would make money. The city envisions more tax dollars and more construction jobs. Susette Kelo and her neighbors envision eviction. Their homes are their castles. They want to stay put.
When you take private property and turn it over to another private party, that is not public use in my book.
