Civil Liberties

New York's Highest Court Upholds Columbia University's Eminent Domain Abuse

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New York's Court of Appeals—the state's highest court—issued its decision today in the Columbia University eminent domain case, upholding the state's controversial land grab on behalf of the elite private university. Exactly as it did in last year's disastrous Atlantic Yards ruling, the Court of Appeals shirked its judicial responsibility and ruled that the Empire State Development Corporation's flawed and pretextual blight findings "were rationally based and entitled to deference." So much for an independent judiciary that stands up for constitutional rights.

I'll have more to say about this abysmal decision later. For now, you can read it for yourself right here.