"How Eminent Domain Ran Amok"
-by Carla T. Main
 October 22, 2005

Warning: A very long, but fascinating read.

"And lest you imagine that the project for which your home or business could be torn down would be something of great public purpose, such as a hospital, a school, or a missile silo, think again. It is far more likely, given the current pattern of economic development takings in this country, that your home or business would be replaced by a spate of condominiums, with an office park, a marina, and a big-box retail store thrown in — all of them built, operated for profit, and owned by private parties."

"The dissenters, led by Justice O’Connor, seemed alarmed by the potential for cherry-picking of individual properties, as well as by the facts laid out in the amicus briefs detailing the disparate impact of such takings on the poor and minorities. O’Connor argued that the majority’s holding essentially rendered the public use clause of the constitution meaningless."

"The city, sore winners, slapped a bill for unpaid “rent” on the Kelo homeowners, reasoning that since petitioners lost the case, they have effectively been living in city-owned property for several years now. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, has called for a moratorium on takings until the legislature can consider a pending bill on the subject. The city of New London has become embittered, to say the least."