History

The Start of Eminent Domain

As early as 1795, the U.S. Supreme Court described the power of eminent domain—where the government takes someone’s property for a “public use”—as “the ultimate ruler of power.” Eminent domain has the potential to destroy lives and livelihoods by uprooting people from their homes and business people from their shops. With eminent domain, the government can force a couple in their 80s to move from their home of 50 years. Eminent domain is the power to evict a small family business, even if that means the business will never reopen.

Changes of Eminent Domain

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 changed the requirement of “public use” to one of “public purpose.” It allowed condemnations to accomplish slum clearance, even if the image preview property ended up in the hands of private parties. State and local governments took this as a green light. First they condemned slums, then run down areas, then slightly run down areas, and now perfectly fine areas. Their initial purposes were to create public housing, but have now expanded to include any residential or business development that happens to appeal to local bureaucrats who are hungry for a few dollars. For decades courts simply rubber-stamped all condemnations. That automatic deference has begun to change as courts grow more skeptical about government’s excessive abuse of power. The result of the years without judicial supervision, however, has been a feeding frenzy.

Eminent Domain's Other Names

It can also be called "condemnation" or, in some states, "expropriation." Condemnation is the general term that means forcible government acquisition of property for any reason. It includes eminent domain, where property is taken for a public use and just compensation must be paid. In some states, the term condemnation can also include taking land for tax delinquency or for building code violations. The government does not have to pay compensation when it condemns for tax delinquency. Whether it has to pay compensation in building code violation condemnations depends on the exact state or local statutes involved.

Rewards of Eminent Domain

Developers pick out the choicest spots in town, then get the cities to condemn them, regardless of who happens to live or work there. The incentives all point in the wrong direction. Cities love eminent domain because they can offer other people’s property in order to lure or reward favored developers. Developers love eminent domain because they don’t have to bother with negotiating for property. They can pick anywhere they want, rather than anywhere they can buy. And the compensation they have to pay is usually less than if they bought the property on the open market. Private companies now routinely demand incentive packages that include promises of large areas of land—land that must be cleared of any homes and businesses that happen to be in the way. Under this act, large businesses are always favored over mom-and-pop establishments, national chains over local businesses and upscale condominiums over middle-class single-family homes. And, of course, government-chosen projects are favored over ones developed independently.