Private Property Becomes Passe

The Supreme Court continued its headlong tumble down the slippery slope of abbrogating personal freedom. In the name of the Public Good, the Court ruled, municipalities can seize private homes and businesses and sell them off to developers for projects they deem more worthy.

The NYTimes assesses the damage:

In a bitter dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the majority had created an ominous precedent. "The specter of condemnation hangs over all property," she wrote. "Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private property, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," she wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.

"As for the victims," Justice O'Connor went on, "the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result."

Justice Stevens was joined in the majority by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. Justice O'Connor's fellow dissenters were Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas...

But New London officials said the overall good that will come from private development in the Fort Trumbull area outweighs the rights of the individual homeowners. "We're pleased," Edward O'Connell, attorney for the New London Development Corporation, told The A.P.

Of course, this newfound coercive power of government won't be used egregiously in the immediate future. Instead, it serves to bolster the growing list of Powers being stockpiled by the Federal government at the expense of the Rights of the citizens.

For further reference, check out Rhinehold's post at Watchblog, and don't forget the last time the Court bogarted one of our rights, just two weeks ago.