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Eminent Domain - Politics, Business, Civil, History - Posted: 22nd Nov, 2006 - 6:29am
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Post Date: 21st Nov, 2006 - 9:25pm / Post ID: #
Eminent Domain
Eminent Domain
What does Eminent Domain mean and why are so many people against the US Supreme Court's ruling about it?
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Eminent Domain is the government's ability, by law, to take your private property - land and/or home - in order to use it for other purposes. Said purposes are generally for public use, such as roads, utilities, military, etc. The government agency, local or otherwise, is required to compensate you at "fair market value" when they invoke eminent domain.
From Wikipedia:
| QUOTE |
| Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking the property or an interest in it, such as an easement. In most cases the only thing that remains to be decided when a condemnation action is filed is the amount of just compensation, although in some cases the right to take may be challenged by the property owner on the grounds that the attempted taking is not for a public use, or has not been authorized by the legislature, or because the condemnor has not followed the proper procedure required by law. The exercise of eminent domain is not limited to real property. Governments may also condemn personal property, including a contract or a franchise, as well as intangible property such as patents, trade secrets and copyrights. |
The problem is, sometimes local governments are influenced by big money developers who will then make money from the land and generate taxes for the government agency that hands over the land.
| QUOTE |
| The U.S. Supreme Court has largely given the public use requirement an expansive interpretation and has allowed takings of private property for reconveyance to other private parties, or in some cases by private parties directly, on the theory that the new owners will put the taken land to more lucrative uses that are likely to generate more tax revenues. ...On June 23, 2006, President George W. Bush issued an executive order stating in Section I that the Federal Government must limit its use of taking private property for "public use" with "just compensation", which is also stated in the constitution, for the "purpose of benefiting the general public." He limits this use by stating that it may not be used "for the purpose of advancing the economic interest of private parties to be given ownership or use of the property taken." |
There were several issues on state ballots regarding eminent domain in November, but I wasn't aware of any Supreme Court ruling recently.
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TOPIC: Eminent Domain