Taking Souter's Home
The fun folks behind the Lost Liberty Hotel project–which seeks to seize Supreme Court Justice David Souter's New Hampshire home via eminent domain and turn it into a hotel in retribution for Kelo v. New London–had a busy weekend in The Granite State. From a press account of a Sunday rally they held in Weare, N.H.:
[Organizer Logan Darrow] Clements was greeted by rousing applause from about 60 people who attended Sunday's rally, some coming from as far away as Texas and Pennsylvania.
He said the five Supreme Court justices who sided with the Connecticut city on the eminent domain controversy "shot a hole in the Constitution." He said opponents should organize nationwide and vote officials out of office if they push similar projects.
More here. Souter has declined to comment.
A CNN story about the movement includes some great comments from a N.H. state legislator:
"The idea we would take somebody's property to put up an inn is laughable," said [Neal] Kurk, a Republican who has represented Weare in the state Legislature for more than 20 years.
Which is exactly what Souter signed off on in Kelo. From CNN's gloss on that case:
Susette Kelo and six other families brought the case against the city of New London, Connecticut, demanding the courts stop the municipality from condemning their land as part of a redevelopment project. The project was a $270 million global research facility spearheaded by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Whole CNN bit here.
Compendium of Reason on eminent domain here.