Eminent domain cases are a clash of two bedrock principals of our legal tradition: The sacrosanct right of property owners to own and exercise control over their property and the sovereign state’s power to take private property from an individual for the benefit of the public. The origins of eminent domain date back to the Old Testament of the Bible. King David offered and paid Araunah compensation for his threshing floor to ultimately build an altar to the Lord to stop the plague. In the United States, the concept of eminent domain is recognized by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Takings Clause states that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. Read More