Eminent Domain: Judicial and Legislative Responses to Kelo

Abstract

It has been almost a year and a half since the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London, 125 S. Gt. 2655 (2005), that the federal Constitution does not bar government from using eminent domain for economic development purposes. That ruling precipitated an unprecedented negative reaction in state legislatures. Now, Ohio has delivered the first post-Kelo state supreme court decision to address the constitutionality of eminent domain. On July 26, in City of Norwood v. Homey, 2006 WL 2096001, a unanimous Ohio Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the majority in Kelo and emphatically stated that the Ohio constitution prohibits the use of eminent domain solely for the purpose of providing an economic benefit to the government and community. This commentary discusses and analyzes both the Norwood ruling and the various state and federal legislative responses to Kelo.