RALEIGH — The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. City of New London drastically weakened the property rights of all citizens, according to a new analysis published today by the John Locke Foundation.
Daren Bakst, legal and regulatory policy analyst for the free-market think tank, wrote a Spotlight briefing paper on the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling against a group of Connecticut property owners. The homeowners, led by Susan Kelo, sought to prevent the city condemnation of their neighborhood along the Thames River. The city is planning to construct a series of economic development projects along the river – including a resort hotel.
Bakst said that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was intended to restrict the government’s powers by limiting eminent domain to instances of “public use.” The Kelo ruling has now expanded the definition of “public use” to include economic development, he said.
“The Supreme Court has rendered the ‘public use’ requirement meaningless,” Bakst said. “Few limits are now placed on the government when it comes to the taking of property.”
Bakst warned that state laws in North Carolina do not provide adequate protection from this expanded government power. Current laws do not explicitly permit eminent domain for economic development, he said, but the General Assembly can easily change that in the future without fear of violating the federal constitution.
“Fundamental property rights could be jeopardized by the whim of political interests,” Bakst said.
He concluded that the legislature should protect North Carolinians’ property rights by amending the state constitution to preclude future expansions of eminent-domain power.
“Amendments to any constitution should be added very rarely and under extreme caution,” Bakst said. “These guiding documents are meant to be difficult to change. However, it is hard to imagine a time when a constitutional amendment is more appropriate than now.”
Daren Bakst’s Spotlight, “Property Rights After Kelo,” is available on the John Locke Foundation website. For more information, contact Bakst (dbakst@johnlocke.org) or Summer Hood (shood@johnlocke.org) at (919) 828-3876.