Eminent Domain – The States Taking Power: Half Day or Full Day (Nominally 4.0 or 8.0 Contact Hours)
If the state says you own your property—you own it; if they say you don’t—then you don’t. Quite simply, the reason anyone can own property is due to the enforcement mechanisms of the state. All property rights, with a few exceptions, are controlled by the power of the state and state laws. Eminent domain is the inherent power of the state over any portion of the soil within the state and the state’s ability to appropriate that soil for state uses. Eminent domain is an attribute of the state; it is not a conferred power. Condemnation is how the state carries out the power of eminent domain within the constitutional limits that have been imposed on the state by the people. Many surveyors, as well as the general public, have little understanding of eminent domain and the state’s power to take private property. This seminar will study eminent domain and it’s implication on property rights, the condemnation process and some recent court decisions on the state’s taking power; including the now infamous U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London that sparked the interest of legal scholars, land surveyors, and ordinary citizens. Finally, recent developments in the law in the wake of Kelo discussed. Power Point presentation.
OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.