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New London Crunch Time

In case you don't normally visit his site, let me say that Tom Blumer of BizzyBlog has had excellent coverage in the aftermath of the Kelo v New London eminent domain ruling last June. It continues. Just because SCOTUS ruled on the case, doesn't mean that it has played all the way out.

Tomorrow, May 31, is the deadline for the homeowners who lost the court case - either take the bad deal the city offers at the point of a gun, or face eviction and nearly a $1 million in fines, taxes, and fees. BizzyBlog's latest is here, along with a couple dozen previous postings linked at the bottom.

For her part, Ms. Kelo has called on Gov. M. Jodi Rell to intercede before the New London City Council can make good on its threat to evict the homeowners. Rell has expressed sympathy, but does not appear likely to actually do anything (see here).

For a case that was the focus of so much national and even international attention at the time of the ruling, it hasn't caught much ink lately. Lawmakers around the country suggested last June that state laws would be tightened to ensure that the actions of the New London City Council would not be replicated around the nation, but little useful legislation seems to have been passed anywhere. Says Timothy Sandefur, a staff attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation:

Of the 16 states that have acted since Kelo was decided, only six -- South Dakota, Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Florida -- have imposed meaningful restraints on government power. Other states have either done nothing or have enacted laws so riddled with loopholes that they allow government to seize whatever property they consider "blighted."

To quote dissenting justice Clarence Thomas, "something has gone seriously awry with this Court's interpretation of the Constitution." Further, something has gone seriously awry with the desire of the American people to reverse course on this erosion of personal rights. I for one will continue checking back in with Mr. Blumer for the latest - and continuing to write my elected representatives on this egregiously flawed trend of collectivism in our government.