Ilya Somin discusses at Liberty Law Talk his book The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London & the Limits of Eminent Domain. The book provides in part a fascinating account of the plight of the New London homeowners who challenged their city’s attempt to seize through eminent domain their homes for use in private development. In addition, Somin gives us a serious study of the eminent domain power, and he discusses why we need to reclaim a more restricted understanding of its legitimate use as opposed to the private to private takings blessed by the Court in Kelo and in many other cases stretching over several decades.
