eminent domain is found in the constitution in the fifth amendment.
where is eminent domain found in the constitution?
the fifth amendment
litigation focusing on the term "land use regulation" occasionally asks courts to decide whether rluipa applies to eminent domain proceedings. generally, courts deciding this question have held that rluipa does not apply to eminent domain because it is not a "zoning or landmarking law." instead, these courts have held that zoning and eminent domain are two completely different and unrelated concepts. the main argument to support this conclusion is that zoning and eminent domain are derived from two separate sources of power. the zoning power is derived from the state's police power, while the eminent domain power is derived from the takings clause of the united states constitution's fifth amendment. however, at least one court has applied the rluipa in an eminent-domain case because the authority to condemn the property came from the city's zoning scheme. a court may be more inclined to find that eminent domain falls within the scope of rluipa if it was authorized by a zoning ordinance or comprehensive plan.
religious land use and institutionalized persons act
in 2005, the organization represented the plaintiffs in the supreme court case "kelo v. city of new london". in this case, the state of connecticut was attempting to take properties owned by state residents and give them to a private company for use in a development. in a 5-to-4 decision the supreme court ruled in favor of the state, affirming the right of states to transfer properties from one private owner to another in this way. the ruling prompted what was widely called a "backlash" against this kind of eminent domain activity. in 2006 (on the first anniversary of the kelo ruling), president george w. bush issued an executive order limiting how federal agencies could use eminent domain. between the kelo ruling and june 2008, 37 states passed laws to increase restrictions on the use of eminent domain. in 2006, the organization won an eminent domain case in the ohio supreme court, the first eminent domain decision by a state supreme court after kelo. in the years since, the institute has continued its efforts to reform eminent domain laws.
institute for justice