Articles

The constitutionality of legislatively imposed exactions

February 21, 2024 | By JAMES BURLING

“Where once government was closely constrained to increase the freedom of individuals, now property ownership is closely constrained to increase the power of government. Where once government was a necessary evil because it protected private property, now private property is a necessary evil because it funds government programs.” 1San R ...

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How property ownership empowered a black community to thrive in the post-Reconstruction era

February 02, 2024 | By BRITTANY HUNTER

The Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era were fraught with tumult as the Southern states struggled with economic devastation and ever-mounting racial tensions. With the end of the Civil War came the end of slavery and a burgeoning hope for racial equality. The newly ratified Fourteenth Amendment declared what the laws of nature had long since ...

Articles

Fox News : The Supreme Court case that could help cities clean up homelessness

February 01, 2024 | By MARK MILLER

The plight of the homeless calls out to anyone with a heart. Drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, and the outsized cost of housing have driven a sharp uptick in the number of homeless living in tents and makeshift camps in public places. The spiraling crisis – in all our big cities but particularly in the West … ...

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City Journal : How to End Home-Equity Theft

January 24, 2024 | By JIM MANLEY

The Supreme Court’s decision last May in Tyler v. Hennepin County represented a major victory for property rights across the United States. The landmark ruling helped protect homeowners’ equity by declaring it unconstitutional for governments to take more than they are owed when collecting a property-tax debt. In the wake of the ruling, ...

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How does a case get to the Supreme Court?

January 19, 2024 | By ELIZABETH SLATTERY

“I’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court.” It’s far easier said than done, and it can take years for a legal battle to wind its way through the courts. When the federal government is on the other side—as it often is in Pacific Legal Foundation cases—it takes a relentless, determined attitude to … ...

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National Review : The Supreme Court’s Chance to Revive a Neglected Civil Right

January 19, 2024 | By LARRY SALZMAN

Sheetz now comes to the Court asking it to confirm the role of the Takings Clause in securing one’s right to build on property free of predatory conditions by the government. It should. … ...

Articles

American Habits : No trespassing means no trespassing, even for the government

January 18, 2024 | By MARK MILLER

The government exists to protect our rights, especially our private property rights. But as South Dakotan James Meyer found out, too often the government, even the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts, forget that basic function. The No Government Trespassing Act makes sure the government, and the courts, remember. … ...

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An interview with the attorneys behind the SCOTUS case Sheetz v. County of El Dorado

January 10, 2024 | By BRITTANY HUNTER

On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, a case challenging the government’s ability to place unreasonable conditions, including large “impact fees,” on property owners seeking building permits. Pacific Legal Foundation partnered with Paul Beard of FisherBroyles, LLP and ...

Articles

Frequently asked questions about Sheetz v. El Dorado

January 08, 2024 | By BRIAN HODGES

What is the legal question in Sheetz? In 2016, George Sheetz bought a vacant lot in rural El Dorado County, California, and planned to build a small, manufactured home where he and his wife would live in retirement and raise their grandson. But when George applied for a county building permit, he was told he … ...