Tomorrow, Friday, August 28, 2026, at 12 noon Eastern Time, the Federalist Society will be producing a one-hour web-based program, “Euclid at 100: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning in America.”
Along with land use expert Professor Michael Wolf, we shall be speaking about the most (in?)famous zoning case, now coming
It’s that time of the year again. Fall’s-a-coming, and that means that in a few days, we’re back at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia to teach two courses: Eminent Domain and Property Rights (W&M is one of the few law schools in the country that offer a course in eminent domain, just compensation, and takings) -and Land Use Controls (an especially hot topic at the moment).
Continue Reading Back To School For Dirt Law @ William & Mary, Season 9
Worth subscribing: a newer (the archives go back to this post, late 2025) from lawprof Stephen R. Miller, named “Euclid Land.” The title should give you a hint about what the topic is, “a conversation about land use reform with law professor, urban planner, and author Stephen R. Miller.”
Continue Reading New(ish) Substack: “Euclid Land” (Prof. Stephen Miller)
Here’s the latest in a case we’ve been following (because it is one of ours). Our cert petition asks this Question Presented: “Does the protection the Takings Clause provides to land-use permit applicants encompass monetary demands beyond those imposed in lieu of a dedication of real property?” Five amici briefs have been filed, urging the Court to review the case.
Continue Reading Amici Briefs In Latest SCOTUS Exactions Petition: Nollan/Dolan Governs Exactions Of Money
Here’s the latest in our continuing series of dirt law pilgrimages, where we visit the site of some of the more important cases in our favorite area of law. As every dirt lawyer knows, you can see photos, read descriptions, and study plat maps. But when it comes to understanding about the property at issue, nothing substitutes for getting your shoes in the dirt on-site, seeing the area for yourself, smelling the air. Walking the earth.
Continue Reading Property Pilgrimage: Nectow v. City of Cambridge (1928)
It was on this day in 1928 when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its second most famous decision about zoning, Nectow v. City of Cambridge, 277 U.S. 183 (1928). We say “second” because everyone knows that the first is the Court’s decision issued just two years earlier which generally upheld comprehensive use, height, and density regulations as a valid exercise of the government’s police power to regulate property uses to further the public health, safety, welfare, or morals. See Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U S. 365 (1926).
Continue Reading You Don’t Look A Day Over 98, Nectow v. City of Cambridge
In a state like Vermont that is heavily dependent on tourism, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that one of the most prominent issues is the policy and legal fight over short-term rentals. In 2022, Burlington, the state’s largest city, tightened up its short-term rental regulations to prohibit “nonhost-occupied short-term rentals in Burlington with
Here’s the latest in a case out of a storied New York City neighborhood that we have been following.
Today, our shop filed this cert petition, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision from the New York Court of Appeals (dun-dun) which held that New York City’s charging a massive fee
Check it out, the latest volume of the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal is now available, both in print for those who subscribe, and online for those who prefer the pdf versions. The pieces include something property rights for everyone: academic property, Supreme Court property practice, Contracts Clause, Zoning and Land Use, and Fourth Amendment.
Continue Reading Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal Vol. 14 Now Available
Yesterday (yes, April Fool’s Day), we returned to William and Mary Law School to help the student-run Real Estate Law Society wrap up its event year. The putative title of our talk was “Hot Topics in Property Law”, but we covered a wider range, including Dirt Law issues to be on the lookout for at the Supreme Court, a century of zoning, career paths in property law (litigation, transactional, academic, for example, and what the hiring market looks like), and some general musings.
Continue Reading William & Mary Law School’s Real Estate Law Society