|
Public Affairs Discussion Group
"Eminent Domain: State Legislative Responses to Kelo vs. New
London: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."
September 29, 2006
Guilford House, Guest Lounge
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
|
 |
Alan Weinstein, J.D., M.C.P.
Professor and Director, Law and Public Policy Program,
Cleveland-Marshall College
of Law,
Cleveland State University
|
Dear Colleagues:
On September 29, at 12:30 p.m. on the first floor of
Guilford House, the Friday Public Affairs Lunch
discussion will take up a fundamental issue of both
justice and the role of government: When can governments
seize private property? We’ll be briefed on current
controversies, particularly involving the case of Kelo
v. New London, by Professor Alan Weinstein of Cleveland
State University, who will talk about “State Legislative
Responses to Kelo: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
In the English tradition, Governments have long had the
authority to seize property for public use, so long as
they paid just compensation. The Fifth Amendment both
recognizes this governmental power and restates its
limits in stating that, “nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.”
“In 2000, the city of New London, [Connecticut] approved
a development plan that, in the words of the Supreme
Court of Connecticut, was ‘projected to create in excess
of 1,000 jobs, to increase tax and other revenues, and
to revitalize an economically distressed city, including
its downtown and waterfront areas.’… In assembling the
land needed for this project, the city’s development
agent has purchased property from willing sellers and
proposes to use the power of eminent domain to acquire
the remainder of the property from unwilling owners in
exchange for just compensation. The question presented
is whether the city’s proposed disposition of this
property qualifies as a ‘public use’ within the meaning
of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the
Constitution.”
So begins Justice Stevens’ decision in the Kelo case,
decided on June 23, 2005. The Court upheld New London’s
definition of public use, and since then all heck has
broken out. It was generally considered that uses such
as highways qualified as public, but replacing one set
of residences and commercial establishments with
another? “Property Rights” advocates began proposing
that Justice Souter’s home be bulldozed for development,
while new and more constrictive definitions of the
eminent domain power were proposed both in state
legislatures and through ballot initiatives.
The conflict over eminent domain is relevant anywhere
that local governments and elites might have plans to
reshape communities and neighborhoods. So it might be
coming soon to a neighborhood near you. To understand
the stakes you need somebody who is an expert in both
law and community development. Fortunately, we have just
such an expert down the road. Alan Weinstein is Director
of the Law and Public Policy Program and the JD/MPA
Joint Degree Program at Cleveland State University. His
appointments are as Associate Professor of both Law and
Urban Studies. A nationally recognized expert on
planning law, he is past-Chair of the Plannin &Law
division of the American Planning Association, and
serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on Land Use & the
First Amendment in the American Bar Association’s
Section of State & Local Government Law. We’re very glad
that he can take the time to come up to University
Circle to share thoughts on this issue. It’s not an easy
one.
As usual, beverages and cookies will be provided by the
Office of University Communications and generous souls.
The tentative schedule for the rest of the semester
follows.
Best regards,
Joe White
More About Our Guest
Professor Weinstein holds a joint faculty appointment in
the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and
also serves as Director of the Colleges' JD/MPA and JD/MUPDD
Joint Degree Programs and Law & Public Policy Program.
He is a nationally recognized expert on planning law who
writes and lectures extensively in this field. Professor
Weinstein is a past-Chair of the Planning & Law Division
of the American Planning Association (APA), is one of
the twenty-eight planning law experts who serve as
Reporters for APA's Planning & Environmental Law, and
serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on Land Use & the
First Amendment in the American Bar Association's
Section of State & Local Government Law. Teaching Areas:
Land Use Planning, Environmental Law, Alternate Dispute
Resolution, Law and Public Policy, Administrative Law,
and Torts.
Fall Semester Schedule
Sept 1: Ken Ledford,
Associate Professor of History and Law, hosts Jon Entin,
Professor of Law and Political Science, to discuss the
first year of the Supreme Court with John Roberts as
Chief Justice.
Sept 8: Leonard Lynn, Professor and Chair of the
Department of Policy and Management at the Weatherhead
School of Management, on what U.S. leadership in
engineering could mean with the rise of India and China.
Sept 15: Mark Naymik, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, on
this year’s statewide elections in Ohio.
Sept 22: Greg Eastwood, Interim President of Case
Western Reserve University, on “The Interim Period:
Tasks for Today and Ideas for the Future.”
Sept 29: Alan Weinstein, Professor and Director, Law and
Public Policy Program, Cleveland-Marshall College of the
Law, "Eminent domain: State Legislative Responses to Kelo vs. New London: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”
Oct 6: Amy Hanauer, Executive Director, PolicyMatters
Ohio, on raising the minimum wage
Oct 13: Marty Kress, Executive Director of the National
Space Science and Technology Center, University of
Alabama at Huntsville, on Organizing NASA for Space
Exploration. NOTE: Tentative room change to Mather House
100.
Oct 20: Michael Wager, Vice Chair and Chair Elect of the
Port Authority, on its role in local economic
development issues.
Oct 27: Pete Moore, Assistant Professor of Political
Science, on whatever is happening in the Middle East at
the time.
Nov 3: Justin Buchler, Assistant Professor of Political
Science, and Andrew Lucker, Adjunct Assistant Professor
of Political Science: Midterm Election forecast.
Nov 10: Eric J. Topol MD, Professor of Genetics, on
concerns about conflicts of interest in medical
research.
Nov 17: Norman Robbins, Emeritus Professor of
Neurosciences, on class bias in who gets to vote.
Nov 24: THANKSGIVING BREAK
Dec 1: Jerome Liebman MD, Emeritus Professor of
Pediatrics, on National Health Insurance
Dec 8: Terry Wolpaw MD, Associate Dean for Curricular
Affairs, School of Medicine, on the new demands on or
expectations of medical education.
Parking: For
those people who seek to make special arrangements about
parking, the contact person now will be Fay Alexander.
Her phone number is 368-4440, and her e-mail is
fabrienne.alexander@case.edu.
|
