Property Rights
Houston Prosecutors Are Keeping Cash Seized From Defendants Whose Cases Were Compromised by Police Corruption
Even in cases that hinged on the trustworthiness of demonstrably untrustworthy cops, people are still waiting to get their money back.
My New The Hill Article on How Arlington, VA Battle over "Missing Middle" Housing is a Microcosm of Broader National Struggle Against Exclusionary Zoning
Barack Obama could have been referring to our community, when he said that “[t]he most liberal communities in the country aren’t that liberal when it comes to affordable housing.”
Colorado Town Seizing Ski Resort's Land To Stop It Building Employee Housing
The Vail Town Council says that while affordable housing is desperately needed in the community, Vail Resorts' Booth Heights project would threaten local bighorn sheep.
Markets Aren't Perfect, but Government Is Worse
The free market allows people to cooperate, fix errors, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Gavin Newsom Cites Dubious Evidence That His Lockdowns Saved California's Economy
The governor made these claims on Monday while also putting a February 2023 end date on the state's emergency public health order.
Sixth Circuit Rules Government Cannot Seize $300,000 in Home Equity to Pay $22,000 Tax Debt
Doing so qualifies as a taking requiring "just compensation" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Sixth Circuit Finds Government Seizure of Home's Equitable Title to Satisfy Tax Debt Was a Taking
An important victory against "self-dealing" by state and local governments.
The Nation's Worst Rent Control Law Gets a Few Moderating Fixes
The St. Paul City Council passed a series of amendments to a voter-passed rent stabilization ordinance that exempt new construction and make it easier for landlords to factor inflation into rent increases.
He Didn't Break Any Rules. New York City Is Demanding He Pay a Fine Anyway
The Big Apple's building regulations are almost impossible to navigate, and officials like it that way.
As California Embraces Development, San Francisco Mayor Vetoes Fake Housing Reform Bill
The proposed policy was offensive to property rights and disincentivized construction. The mayor's rejection of it shows the state's increasing interest in allowing more building.
Why the Florida and Texas Social Media Laws Violate the Takings Clause
They mandate occupation of private property without the consent of the owner.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Administration Tells Gainesville To Abandon Zoning Reform
The state's Republican administration comes out against property rights and local control.
Christian Britschgi: Zoning Restrictions Worsen the Housing Crisis
Associate Editor Christian Britschgi breaks down how zoning restrictions distort the housing market.
Number of American Mass Murders Relatively Steady Since 2006
Plus: A surge in female voter registrations, eminent domain in North Carolina, and more...
Prosecutors Who Want Credit for Investigating Police Corruption Are Happy To Steal Money From Innocent People
The Harris County, Texas, District Attorney's Office oversees civil forfeitures that make a mockery of justice.
Little Libraries, Free at Last?
Good news for fans of literacy and opponents of restrictive zoning codes
The Political Strategy of "Making the Other Side Better"
Economist Tyler Cowen argues this approach is too often neglected. But is more common than he suggests.
A Black Family's Property Was Seized via Eminent Domain. A Century Later, Their Descendants Just Got It Back.
Segregation-era racists tried to drive the Bruces away from their own beachfront property. When intimidation didn't work, they resorted to the power of the state.
How Demands for 'Local Control' Become an Excuse for NIMBYism
Conservatives' guiding principle should always be less government control, not more.
This Appeal Asks the Supreme Court To Reject Warrantless Gun Seizures Justified by 'Special Needs'
The Institute for Justice urges SCOTUS to renounce that open-ended exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Economic Liberalization on Israeli Kibbutzim Increases Support for Markets
Even socialist kibbutzniks can come to appreciate the benefits of markets when given a chance to directly compare them to socialism.
Seizing Russian Assets Violates the 'Fundamental Right' to Property, Says Swiss President
"You have to ensure the citizens are protected against the power of the state. This is what we call liberal democracies."
Federal Court of Claims Rejects Takings Claims Against CDC Eviction Moratorium
But it does so on the ground that the moratorium was never properly "authorized," not because a moratorium could never be a taking.
Federal Jury Awards $59,000 in Takings Compensation to Property Owner Whose House was Severely Damaged by SWAT Team Pursuing a Suspect
The ruling authorizing the award is at odds with other federal court decisions holding that law-enforcement exercises of the "police power" are exempt from takings liability.
Beyond NIMBY vs. YIMBY - How Current Homeowners Can Benefit from Zoning Deregulation
Even if the value of their property goes down, current homeowners still often have much to gain from breaking down barriers to new housing construction.
Labyrinthine Zoning Rules Restricted Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 spread across the country, complex rules around land use and building permits made housing the poor and vulnerable effectively impossible.
L.A.'s Eternal Eviction Moratorium
Now that the pandemic is fading and much of the available rent relief has been spent, L.A.'s eviction moratorium seems like pure regulatory inertia.
An Alabama Family Is Fighting a Losing Battle Against Eminent Domain
The Moore family has lived on their land for generations. Now the state of Alabama says their homes must make way for a highway.
To Promote Public Safety, Michigan Authorizes Cops To Rob Travelers at Airports
The change represents a substantial reversal of civil forfeiture reforms aimed at protecting innocent property owners.
Meet Newton Howard, the Brain Scientist Who Put Giant Transformers in Front of His D.C. Home
The Georgetown professor isn't a toy lover—he's trying to convey a philosophical idea about the nature of free will and the capacity of humans to remake the world around them.
When Is it a Taking of Private Property to Bar a Property Owner from Excluding Unwanted Visitors?
Understanding the scope of Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
Sheriff Agrees To Stop Stealing Cannabis Cash From Armored Cars, Saying His Deputies 'Are Not Highway Robbers'
The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.
Reversing Roe v. Wade Wouldn't be the First Time the Supreme Court Gutted Precedents that Protect Individual Rights - Far From it
That fact doesn't necessarily justify overruling Roe. Depending on how it's viewed, the history of such reversals may even counsel against further such moves.
The State Took Her Home Because She Missed $900 in Property Taxes
Tawanda Hall's house was worth $286,000 more than her overdue tax bill. There was nothing she could do about it.
My Washington Post Article on Gun Rights and Property Rights
It explains why laws requiring private property owners to allow guns on their land are an affront to property rights, and violate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The Feds Will Return More Than $1 Million in Marijuana Money That California Cops Stole From Armored Cars
Empyreal Logistics agreed to drop its claims against the Justice Department, but it is still suing San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
Eighth Circuit Rules Eviction Moratoria are Likely to be Takings Requiring Compensation Under the Fifth Amendment
The court based its decision on the US Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
Article on "Gun Rights, Property Rights, and Takings"
My Duke Center for Firearms Law piece on why laws forcing private property owners to allow guns on their premises violate property rights and often qualify as takings requiring compensation under the Fifth Amendment.
Video of American Enterprise Institute Event on my Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It includes commentary by housing policy specialist Emily Hamilton (Mercatus Center), and economist Filipe Campante (Johns Hopkins University).
L.A. Considers Honoring Civil Rights-Era Housing Activist by Making It Harder To Build Housing
Preservationists hope to make the one-time home of Loren Miller a historic landmark. That it would make it nearly impossible to redevelop the $1.4 million two-bedroom home.
Massacre at Flowertown
2.5 million dead bees, and an unlikely test of public health powers.
"Woodman, Spare That Tree!," Says Pensacola
Nay, says the Florida Court of Appeal majority, interpreting a recent "statute authoriz[ing] residential property owners to remove trees from their property without interference from local government" if an arborist or landscape architect says the "trees present a danger to persons or property."
Texas Town Shuts Down Her Home Day Care After Nearby Golfers Complain the Kids Were Making Too Much Noise
Bianca King argues in a new lawsuit that Lakeway, Texas, zoning officials illegally deprived her of her right to earn a living by denying her a permit for her home day care business.
The Destruction of Detroit's Black Bottom
How the zeal for government project housing killed a prosperous black community in Detroit.
A California Sheriff Remains Free To Rob Armored Cars Carrying Money From State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.
