Five years ago, the Supreme Court in an extremely controversial decision ruled in the Kelo v. City of New London case that the law of eminent domain could apply in condemning private property for economic development.
The ruling generated a tsunami of backlash. The outpouring from our readers was immense--unlike anything else I can remember in my time with the magazine. In response, many states moved quickly to enact new laws to prevent the use of eminent domain for development in their own states.
The backlash to the ruling still rages today. It was exacerbated by the fact that the commercial project in question ended up being largely a flop. The houses were demolished to make way for a plant that Pfizer announced it was shutting down last year. So in the end, people lost their houses needlessly.
The Institute for Justice, a self-described libertarian, civil liberties, public interest law firm, has put together a nice video summarizing what happened with Kelo and what's happened since to commemorate the five year anniversary of the ruling. You can watch it below.