Eminent Domain: Churches "Targeted by the Bulldozers"

From Cybercast News Service:

There is disagreement over whether the U.S. Supreme Court's recent eminent domain decision endangers the property rights of churches, synagogues and other religious institutions. Some argue that the First Amendment and existing laws may offer adequate protection, while others worry that the decision will open the door to a political assault on the property of people of faith.

The Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London ruling, could mean that "religious institutions that are, by nature, non-commercial and, by law, tax exempt, would be the first to be targeted by the bulldozers because of their alleged lack of economic contribution to the community," according to Jared Leland, media and legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

The Becket Fund filed a "friend of the court" brief in support of Susette Kelo and the other homeowners' property rights in the Kelo case. On June 23, the nation's high court expanded the definition of "public use" in eminent domain cases, ruling that the city of New London, Conn., could seize property owners' homes for private development that might generate jobs and increased tax revenue.

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor described the slippery slope she believes the court's majority created with its decision.

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O'Connor voiced [a] concern ... that resonated with groups advocating on behalf of religious rights. She warned that in expanding the definition of "public use," the majority had come close to embracing "the absurd argument that ... any church that might be replaced with a retail store ... is inherently harmful to society, and thus within the government's power to condemn."

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