Julia D. Mahoney

Kelo’s Legacy: Eminent Domain and the Future of Property Rights

The most striking thing about Kelo v New London, which held that the condemnation of fifteen homes pursuant to an economic development plan qualifies as a “public use” under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause, is that there was significant public surprise and outcry at the outcome. For decades conventional wisdom had held that the phrase “public use” in the Takings Clause placed little, if any, constraint on exercises of the eminent domain power, and that any acquisition of property undertaken to further a legitimate public purpose was almost certain to be judged lawful. To be sure,