Articles

No S—, Sherlock!

April 24, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur Columbia Law Professor Thomas Merrill has a new article out on the connection between morality and property. It's not a thorough explanation of the moral rightness of private property rights—but one wouldn't expect that—still, it is great to see things like this coming from such a source: Pragmatism is too uncertain, ...

Articles

"River of Greed"

April 18, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Steven Geoffrey Gieseler If I'm reading this right, one author claims that eminent domain will "drive up the price of the land" a local government in Florida is looking to take. While the concerns over tax chicanery may or may not be valid, the article evidences a sketchy conception of what eminent domain, or … ...

Articles

Developer Takes on City Hall And Wins, Thanks to Prop. 207

April 16, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur Laurie Roberts of the Arizona Republic has this excellent article on Phoenix's repeal of its "historic designation" ordinance, which would have severely restricted property rights of many homeowners in Phoenix. Roberts writes, This isn't about a city saving history. It's about a city controlling property. W ...

Articles

Maryland's Highest Court Says : We Mean It!

April 13, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur This article in the Baltimore Sun explains that the Maryland Court of Appeals has once again struck down an attempt by the city of Baltimore to exploit its quick take authority in ways that deprive property owners of any realistic opportunity in court. Here is the decision. It relies heavily on the … ...

Articles

Has the Kelo Backlash Been Effective?

April 04, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur Bert Gall from the Institute for Justice and Prof. Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy have a bit of a debate going over whether the nation's reaction to the Kelo case has actually resulted in substantial protections for private property owners. Since this is the subject of my 2006 article in the … ...

Articles

More on Fake Eminent Domain Reform in California

April 03, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur Prof. Ilya Somin has some important comments on the League of Cities' eminent domain "reform" ballot initiative. As he concludes, this initiative does reinforce my general thesis that post-Kelo reform has been ineffective because political leaders can exploit voter ignorance by persuading the public that bogus refo ...

Articles

Start Spreadin' The News

April 03, 2007 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

by Timothy Sandefur I just got back from New York, where I spoke at Columbia Law School about eminent domain and related matters. The Columbia ACS blog has the details. … ...