Supreme Court Cases
Decisions Leading up to the Kelo Ruling
In Kelo v. City of New London, decided June 23, 2005, the Supreme Court upheld the ability of cities to take the property of individuals by eminent domain, even when a city does not intend to redevelop the land for "public use," but to help increase the community’s tax base. The majority opinion was grounded on a century of Supreme Court decisions holding that "public use" must be read broadly to mean "for a public purpose." The dissenters argued that even a broad reading of "public use" does not extend to private-to-private transfers solely to improve the tax base and…
