No they can't, the lady won.

Eminent domain is nothing new, it's been the law all along. However, the government is required to compensate you and you can challenge the level of compensation in court.

In Ms. Coking's case, they actually built the casino around her building - it actually wraps around it on three sides.

Site farked already!

or they can even seize it, if they prefer

I can use your girlfriend's boobies better than you can. If thou thinkest otherwise, I challenge ye to a boob-a-thon.

I feel I can do a better job in the New Jersey capitol building. *yoink*

Yes, it is called a "police power".

Wanna live in a place without "police powers"?

Try Liberia or Afghanistan (pre-2001)

If you carry more than $10K in cash they can seize that too without reason. America is just plain farked up these days, it is seriously time for another revolution and I'm not kidding, we truly need to have one before we can't.

Oh, come now! You all know the golden rule:
"He who has the gold makes the rules."

Well I think that cancels my plan for a summer home in the Pine Barrens

jeebus Krist

Please somobdy with some clout submit the article on Slate that says France is like America in the 70's. I do not have a clue about HTML. I saw it on msn homepage

The only thing this lady has to complain about is the amount of compensation the state owes her. Stop biatching and respect the laws that help make this country great. If she really doesn't like this idea, then start writing your congress-person. That's what this country is about, people's input. Stop complaining and do something about it.

Site doesn't work but it's not police powers its part of the takings clause in the 5th ammendment. The government can take property and in some cases it must compensate but not all.

I think some "patriots" already tried something like that, Stephenv

1984?

Eminent Domain is something we've all "enjoyed." You think there weren't houses in the way of that interstate you drive on?

It's also not absolute. My neighborhood was going to be turned into a soccer field and/or parking lot for UMKC here in Kansas City. Our neighborhood association and the residents fought back, and we won. Our property values have never been higher, and in the process, we found out that we're one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the nation. Woot!

Why would anybody want to live in a rathole like Atlantic City anyway?

Impaler: Agreed. I find environmental regulations to be just as well; people shouldn't be able to do whatever they want to their wetlands, etc... Even if a wetland itself is on private property, if it is filled or developed, the results of the action will probably extend onto other persons' property. But that's another flame-war.

But to seize property to give it to some millionaire/billionaire? That's obviously not right.

Clarification: As well, I find environmental regulations to be just.

That's less ambiguous...

Wait a minute, didn't we do something like that to that one group, the watchamacallums...

Oh, right, the Native Americans. That's right.

After finally getting the page to load and reading the story, I'm starting to sway on my earlier stated position. It's seems more and more like a story of rich people just rail-roading middle-class people.

Another farking "mock NJ" article. Bah.

A machine-gun nest and a house wired with explosives makes eminent domain more difficult.

Frankenstein, I gotcha covered, but have zero pull. Hope it gets posted.

I want to note that not all rich people are fvcks, just the ones that golf. Those are by far the worst. Some friends and I rode our bikes through a golf course a while ago because there aren't any bike paths at all in this city (but there are about 15 golf courses). Anyways, ever asshole out there either gave us dirty looks or yelled at us. Some lady even tried to hit us with a golfball AND her clubs.

We simply yelled back at them: "build some bike paths!"

Anyways, I think there was one or two nice old people who waved to us and smiled, and even told us that we should cut off the path before we got to the clubhouse.

Farked?? Cant read the article..but judging from the headline..How and when did the USA become a commie-state?

Hmmm, maybe I should go to NJ and use this stupid law to put up some bus stops and public parks in the middle of golf courses.

Eminent domain is nothing new, friends.

Stephenv: you're such a bike rebel! watch out, golfers!

I don't think it's farked, I think it's gettting hung up on a link graphic. Try hitting "stop" on your browser, and you might get the article.

Its important to note that if this woman didn't win the right to keep her home she would not have been left out to dry in terms of compensation. I agree that taking someones home to create a parking lot because it generates revenue is a very shady manipulation of the law but she would not have had to settle for 25% of its value.

There is a formula that the government uses to determine the price of any property that they seize for a public (or private) works kind of project. It has something to do with the year the home and a fixed rate of valuation. Unfortunately its up to the home owner to then file suit to recoupe the difference between what they received and what the "fair market value" of the property is.

Incidentally I was once told that the formula the government uses to determine the value of your house can also be used when filling out financial aid forms for students. Since this formula results in very low values its beneficial to students looking for additional financial aid.

The Lake Tahoe families weren't so lucky. They sued the TRPA, arguing that the freeze on development was a de facto "taking" of private property, since it deprived them of the economic value of their land. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed on April 23, on a 6-3 vote.

what the site doesn't mention is that the supreme court's decision did not preclude the finding of a compensable taking on remand.

By invoking "smart growth" law, politicians can impose density codes that regulate which kinds of buildings can (and cannot) be constructed. By declaring certain areas "historic landmarks," politicians can prohibit landowners from demolishing old buildings or improving a home's exterior.

Politicians can get away with such actions, in part, because the judicial branch allows them to.

*gasp* ...democracy in action? say it ain't so?!?

stupid libertarians.

Oh Canada...

Thanks Henchman. WTF! You dont have the right to your own property anymore! Your government is farking you sideways, if I lived there I´d started a revolution long time ago.

um eminent domain laws work best in national emergencies, meaning if the military needs the land your house is on, cya. It can be used in peacetime too- e.g. airports

Trump wants to build a farking casino. Yeah, this is about the point where we all start mumbling Marxist quotes and chambering a round in our pistols

Got news for you, sport. The government can take your land whenever they want if they can prove they have a need for it. Ask the Manhattan or West Side of Chicago residents kicked off their land for the construction of the freeways in the 30's, 40's, and 50's.

What's more, it's a good thing. If an airport will bring billions of dollars in to the local economy, why shoudl it be blocked by one yahoo who refuses to sell becasue he wants to extort millions from the government. By condemning the land under eminent domain, the gov prevents land speculators from screwing the citizens of the state.

Nightsweat, a bridge or highway or airport are all a far cry from a privately-run for-profit casino. The former are all public goods. That isn't the case here. If Trump wants to build a casino somewhere, he can farking well pay full market price for the land -- meaning, what he can negotiate privately with a willing seller.

Eminent domain is a necessary power, but it should be exercised with great restraint and should only be used for truly public goods. Admittedly, the line is sometimes fuzzy, but this example clearly crosses it. Eminent domain should not be used to line the pockets of private enterprise.

Well, maybe this one yahoo is holding to his property because he and his forefather always have been living at that piece land. It has more than just a economical value to him, its his history, his roots.

This kind of things always pisses me off because it has happened to my grandfather. The military kicked the shiat out of him and burned a few houses until he didnt dare do anything but giving over the right of the land to them and they got to build their not-so-secret naval base. He were given the right to hire his own property for 80 years and the contract couldnt be revoked and we werent allowed to buy back what should have been rightfully ours when the contract went out.

*gasp* ...democracy in action? say it ain't so?!?

Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president, not elected. Want to try again?

Trump wants to build a farking casino. Yeah, this is about the point where we all start mumbling Marxist quotes and chambering a round in our pistols

I'd recommend Kropotkin, instead. Party dictatorship failed in pretty spectacular fashion, primarily because it resulted in stunts like this getting pulled on a regular basis.

nah, you don't have to believe in communism. I'm a full-fledged capitalist. I just think you should occasionally bring everyone back in line when they start getting too corrupt and greedy... Marx is a fairly well-known and useful scare tool, no?

Plant a little tree for Jesus
And one for the brotherhood of Man
Plant one for seein'
And one for breathin'
And don't forget the children in 'Nam
And if you can't make The Revolution
Or pick up the heavy load
Just go out one night
With a shovel and a light
And plant a tree in the middle of the road

Well they cranked-up all they bulldozas
And they pushed the little dogwood down
And they built them a big-ole nineteen laner
Through the prettiest part of the town
The very next time they had a Dogwood Festival
The people saw the light
They had to hold it all
In the median strip
'Cause there wasn't a tree in sight

PlatinumDragon: d'oh! for some reason i read "judicial" and thought "legislative." damn i'm tired. well, disregard that comment then.

sorry about that...and good catch.

yeah, well *cracks knuckles* we don't have to worry about these kinda things up here in the real land of the free, Canada.

Hehehe, you Americans so craaaaazy.

Talk about a Locke-ian title... amusing. I don't know how i particularly feel about that story. *shrug* still, amusing to see Locke's ideas in practice still.

I'ma bit surprised that Mr. Trump didn't just simply knock on her door and make her an attractive offer for her home. The whole amount would have been a tax write-off for him, since it was a clear business expense, and everybody would have won: The widow would have recieved a nice payment for her house, Mr. Trump would have gotten a nice tax deduction (equal to the full amount spent for the property), and the state would have a newly taxable parking lot (although that does irritate me). This entire thing simply didn't need to happen.

Andwarf,

Better check your history. In the 80's, the government expropriated huge chunks of land east of Toronto (Pickering) to build an airport. It included some of the best agricultural land in the province and some families sent packing were the ancestors of settlers who'd been there for more than a century. The compensation given by the government was a mere fraction of the actual lands' worth and was based on some tax base formula.
This spurred a massive protest movement called People or Planes (POP) and dragged on for years. Ultimately, the airport was never built, not because of the protest but because the government finally decided it wasn't really needed and couldn't be afforded.
If you do some research into Canadian law, you'll find that Canadians have even less rights to their property than the Yanks. Basically, we all just 'rent'.

Actually, Ayn, Trump made a pretty damn good offer if I remember correctly. She just wanted to hold out for much more, even though all of her neighbors were happy with the deals they got.