In a case we’ve been following, a San Francisco Bay Area municipality has filed a cert petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in International Church of the Foursquare Gospel v. City of San Leandro, No. 09-15163 (Feb. 15, 2011). In that case, the Ninth Circuit held that the
9th Circuit: Church’s Use Permit Requirement Violates RLUIPA Equal Terms
We tend not to think of churches as “blighting” their neighborhoods. But what about a church in a downtown “entertainment” district, where the nearby businesses are bars, nightclubs, and liquor stores, and placing a church in the area might limit the availability of liquor licenses?
In a sort of reversal of the usual LULU (locally
International Monday
On this Monday we bring you these stories, all with an international flavor:
- Transit-oriented development, Agra style: from the Times of India comes “For 12 yrs, marooned around Taj, villagers leading a no-vehicle life.” In 1998, “the Supreme Court [of India] banned fuel-driven vehicles within 500 metres of the [Taj Mahal] to avoid
Eighth Circuit Sees The Sign – Eminent Domain Abuse Protest Mural Gets First Amendment OK
Is this a “sign?” The city of St. Louis thought so. The city’s building inspection department issued a citation to the folks who commissioned the painting on a residential duplex, telling them they needed a permit. So they asked the city for one.
Denied. The zoning code does not allow for such signs. It’s too
New Cert Petition: Are Nollan Claims Subject To Williamson County (And If So, Should Williamson County Be Overruled)?
If you understand the title of this post, congratulations: you are a regulatory takings wonk.
The property owners have filed a cert petition asking the Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s decision in Alto Eldorado Partnership v. County of Santa Fe, 634 F.3d 1170 (10th Cir. 2011). The Questions Presented explain the background
“This Is A Case Where CEQA Worked”
Here’s how the California Court of Appeal, Third District began today’s opinion in a case involving the California Environmental Quality Act:
This is a case where CEQA worked. The City of Rocklin (the City) in 2007 approved a residential development project for an undeveloped area of the City known as Clover Valley. The approval culminated
Legislators’ Voting Is An Exercise Of “Power,” Not “Speech”
The technical legal question before the Court in Nevada Comm’n on Ethics v. Carrigan, No. 10-568 (June 13, 2011) was whether legislative voting by an elected official was “speech” and if so, whether the First Amendment allowed him to vote for a casino development proposal in which his campaign manager and personal friend was
New Lawsuit To Watch: Land Use Commission, Vested Rights, Civil Rights
A new case worth watching has been filed in Hawaii state court (Third Circuit, the Big Island) that involves allegations of vested rights and estoppel, Nollan/Dolan exactions, state and federal due process and takings, inverse condemnation, and equal protection.The
See below, the Complaint in Bridge Aina Le’a v. State of Hawaii Land Use
SCOTUS: Legislative Voting Is Not “Speech,” State May Require Recusal For Legislators’ Conflicts Of Interest
This just in.
In a case we’ve followed closely, the U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that Nevada’s Ethics in Government Law is not unconstitutionally overbroad, and that a state may regulate apparent conflicts of interest in legislative voting without infringing upon an elected official’s First Amendment speech rights.
In an opinion by Justice Scalia
Winner: Best Title For Law Review Article About Kelo (I Think)
“Kelo, Parents and the Spatialization of Color (Blindness) in the Berman–Brown Metropolitan Heterotopia” by Denver lawprof Tom Romero II.
This article utilizes interdisciplinary methodology and resources to describe the manner by which legally enforced color lines on a local scale became paradoxically proscribed, yet essential to what I call the multi-racial