Evicted!

In 2005 the Supreme Court decided Kelo v. City of New London, a ruling that let a local government take a person's home so that a private development could go ahead. Public anger followed, and opposition crossed party, ideological and racial lines, with four in five Americans against the decision.

This is a non-fiction study of eminent domain and property rights in the years after Kelo. Critics of the ruling say it marks a radical break in the law and leaves every homeowner open to losing a house to government acting for corporate interests. David Schultz tests that claim and argues that the supposed wave of eminent domain abuse is mostly a myth.

The book first sets out the meaning of property rights, the reasons the law shields them, and the way eminent domain operates in practice. Schultz then shows that Kelo made no new law and only extended earlier Supreme Court precedents. On that basis he rejects the view that the decision opened the way to widespread abuse.

He does not dismiss the worry entirely. Schultz acknowledges that corrupt officials and aggressive corporations occasionally combine against individual owners, and he names the legislative changes needed at local, state and national levels to protect them.

It is written for general readers, property owners and local government officials who want to understand what Kelo means for property law. The tone is practical and critical, and the argument runs against the heated public debate.