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Abstract
On the last day of the US. Supreme Court's Term, with both novices and gurus of land-use law anxiously awaiting, the Court issued its opinion in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, No. 91-453 (June 29, 1992), 44 Z D 302. The nationwide interest in this regulatory takings case is uncommonly high for a variety of reasons, including the fact that, in 1987, the Court issued a trilogy of famous takings cases-but left confusion in the wake. Since 1987, both friends and foes of land-use regulation have fervently urged the Court to clearly tell them what is, and is not, a regulato y taking. After the Court accepted a record number (four) of land-use law cases for one Term in 1991, with Lucas being the only regulatory takings case, the interest of the news media and the land-use law community swelled. The notoriety of the Lucas case even intensified as, one by one, the Court disposed of the other three land-use cases. Rumors spread that the Court's backlog of cases had reached an all-time high, fueling speculation that the Court might even summer before ruling on Lucas. In this month's commentaries, four seasoned observers, including one private rights advocate, will analyze the meaning of this latest Supreme Court takings case.