Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes
The Kelo case has been decided. A huge win for municipalities and well-connected developers, and a major defeat for property owners and property rights advocates. The ruling is 5-4, because Justice Kennedy sided with the liberals (Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Souter).

WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in a decision anxiously awaited in communities where economic growth conflicts with individual property rights. Thursday's 5-4 ruling represented a defeat for some Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas. As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.