Thank you to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School’s State Court Report (#statecourtreport) for publishing our piece “Missed Opportunities in State Takings Challenges to Pandemic-Era Restrictions.” The title gives a hint about what this is about: how state and local government’s reaction to Co-19 spurred challenges not only under the U.S.
Municipal & Local Govt law
No FOMO: There’s Still Room For You To Join Us In New Orleans Feb 1-3, 2024 For The 41st ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference
Don’t miss out!
We promise: this is the last time we’re going to try to entice you to the upcoming ALI-CLE Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Conference in New Orleans. We are getting close to capacity, but there is still room. In recent years, we have standing room only in the Conference halls, and…
“The Lost World – Land Use Before Zoning” – Bound by Oath Podcast, S3 E3: Hadacheck, Buchanan
This season of the Institute for Justice‘s podcast series “Bound by Oath” is devoted to property rights. It’s a fascinating series — produced by John Ross, it is more like an audio documentary than a typical podcast — focusing on constitutional issues. And we say this not just because we’ve been a…
Devillier v. Texas Argument Preview: Do Courts Need Congress’ Permission To Enforce The Right To Just Compensation?
“No need to ask, he’s a smooth operator…”
On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case we’ve been following closely because it involves the fundamental limitation on the sovereign power to take private property. In our system, the sovereign indeed has the power to take private property against the…
Sheetz Argument Round-Up
Here is a collection of commentary on the oral arguments in Sheetz v. El Dorado County, heard by the Supreme Court earlier this week. (Our own thoughts here.)
- Lawprof Tim Mulvaney, “Mulvaney of Sheetz v. County of El Dorado” (PropertyProfBlog) (“In light of that concern, perhaps such scrutiny, Justice Jackson ruminated,
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Today’s Arguments In Sheetz v. El Dorado County: “[R]adical [A]greement” On The Key Issue
If you were looking for deep clarity from the Justices about land use law and whether a legislature imposing monetary conditions on property development always gets the free judicial pass of rational basis review in this morning’s oral arguments in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, you may not discover a lot of predictive…
What We’re Reading Today, Property Rights Edition

Bismarck in January is looking pretty good.
Here’s what we’re reading today:
- Christian Britschgi, Court’s Wild Zoning Decision Blocks ‘Montana Miracle’, Reason (Jan. 2, 2024) (“In an eyebrow-raising decision, a Montana judge has halted the implementation of two laws legalizing duplexes and accessory dwelling units on residential land across the state, writing that they’d
…
New Article: “Keeping the Surplus? Examining Colorado’s Real Property Tax Lien System in Light of Tyler v. Hennepin County” (Makenna Johnson)
How thrilled are we that an alum of our William and Mary Law School courses, up-and-coming Colorado property lawyer Makenna X. Johnson, has published an article in the area of law we all love (dirt law)?
Let’s just say that we’re thrilled. Makenna writes:
Colorado’s real property tax system resembles Minnesota’s principally in…
Sheetz v. El Dorado County Argument Preview: Do Blanket Exactions Present The Same Risk As Ad Hoc Exactions?
Get ready for Sheetz v. El Dorado County, No. 22-1074, the “legislative exactions” case at the Supreme Court. [Disclosure: this is one of our firm’s cases, so we won’t be doing an analysis here. Besides, you already know where we stand on the issue.]
Hawaii SCT: Most Of Those Eminent Domain Issues (Esp. Severance Damages) Are For Juries
We’re not going to go into very much detail or provide commentary on the Hawaii Supreme Court’s unanimous 88-page opinion in an eminent domain case we’ve been following, City and County of Honolulu v. Victoria Ward, Ltd., No. SCAP-22-0000335 (Dec. 29, 2023), because before we departed private practice for public interest law…





