The original idea behind eminent domain was that the state could seize private property (with just compensation) for public uses, such as building expressways and power plants.

     However, during the past few decades, eminent-domain laws have increasingly been used to seize private property for the benefit of other private users. Property has been taken to build supermarkets, gambling casinos, even private parking lots and apartment buildings. That has resulted in confiscation of the homes of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom receive a fraction of the true value of their property. Many end up jobless or homeless when their communities are destroyed.

     Finally, one court has had the gumption to say "ENOUGH." In a case with nationwide implications, on July 30, 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the famous 1981 "Poletown" decision, which allowed the City of Detroit to bulldoze an entire neighborhood of over 1,000 residences and 600 businesses to build a General Motors auto plant, was mistaken.

     As the Institute for Justice comments, "That case set the precedent, both in Michigan and across the country, for widespread abuse of the power of eminent domain. It sent the signal that courts would not interfere, no matter how private the purpose of the taking."

     "Poletown was the first major case allowing condemnation of areas in the name of jobs and taxes. It is cited in every property textbook in the country."

     If upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, this new decision will mark a major victory for protecting property rights in America.

     For more information about this decision and the great work being done by the Institute for Justice, which you may want to support, contact them at:

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