Life After ‘Poletown’: What is the Future of Takings in America?

A Roundtable Discussion, Tuesday, November 16, 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Chicago IL
Presented by the National Law Journal
and the
University of Chicago Law School
For 50 years, takings jurisprudence has been expanding toward broader definitions of "public purpose." To some, this has been necessary to eliminate urban blight, while others see it as a threat to home and hearth. The tide may have begun to turn this summer when the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the infamous Poletown decision — in which a town was taken and given to General Motors. Things certainly are coming to a head now that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases: Kelo v. City of New London (a real property takings case) and Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (a regulatory takings case). But what is the right direction to take in shaping the scope of our government’s power to take private property? How courts answer that question will impact the role of government in the development of land and communities in the 21st century. Your home — or your city — could be at stake.


PANELISTS:
Alicia Mazur Berg
Vice President of Campus Environment, Columbia College (Former Commissioner of Department of Planning and Development, City of Chicago)

Dana Berliner
Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice

David Dana
Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research, Northwestern University School of Law

Richard Epstein
James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

MODERATOR:
Carla T. Main
Associate Editor
The National Law Journal

WHERE:
University of Chicago Law School
Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom
1111 E. 60th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

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RESOURCES
Important Cases:

• Berman v. Parker
  
• Poletown Neighborhood Council v. Detroit (Teacher's Synopsis)
  
• County of Wayne v. Hathcock
  
• Kelo, et al. v. City of New London, Ct.
  
• Chevron USA, Inc. v. Lingle

Related Articles:

• 'Public Use' Redefined
  
• 'Kelo': 'Economic Benefit to the Community' and 'Public Use'

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in two controversial takings cases. For more reading on those cases, see the following briefs filed with the high court:

• On Kelo v. City of New London (a real property takings case involving a group of homeowners in Connecticut):
  
  
  • Brief of the homeowners/petitioners
    
  • Brief of the respondents City of New London and New London Development Corp.
    
  • Reply Brief of homeowners/petitioners
    
  • Brief of Amicus Curiae in Support of petitioners
  
  
  
• On Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (a regulatory takings case involving rent controlin Hawaii):
  
  
  • Brief of Lingle et al. V. Chevron USA, Inc.