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ir decisions. The Court has also stated that it is not up to the legislature to determine, when questioned, if an act of eminent domain will be condemned or protected by the defined term of “public use.” (United States Congress, 2005) For the idea of “public use” the question raised it this: Has the concept of “public use” been misinterpreted to enhance the benefits of private individuals, or is it that the understanding of “public use” and “public welfare” too vague? These questions will be address at the conclusion of this paper.

Just Compensation

The “just compensation” clause of eminent domain is not as severely examined as the “public use” clause. It should be noted that in the context of the cases pertaining to the subject of the “just-compensation” clause it is the abuses of the clause that are being examined more thoroughly then the situations that have used the “just compensation” clause properly. Courts cases Kelo v. City of New London (2005) and Berman v. Parker (1954) both are used as examples of how “just compensation” has been observed as being easily abused. These cases have stated in their decisions and opinions that the phrase “just compensation” can be considered as being abused in modern times in a way that the word “just” has been interpreted too broadly (Olivetti, 2003) FindLaw.com generally defines just compensation as:

Therefore the definition of just compensation fall under two categories. The first defines just compensation as the assessment of property at the current market value. The second defines just compensation as merely the state of some form of compensation; this factor existing because the owners of the property are not seemingly in a position to dispute the offer.

The first problem created when examining the definition of the “just compensation” clause is what is considered just compensation. It can be argued that asking if just compensation is just is as subjective a question as asking what should be considered “public use”. When removing an owner from their property the question brought forward is whether one can measure compensation on something a sentimental as private property.

Judicial Precedence: Major Eminent Domain Cases

It is considered a prevalent view of many that eminent domain be viewed by strict parameters due to the gross violations of property rights (Malloy, 2007).These individuals believe that first, there has been some misinterpretation of the Fifth Amendment and second, that these misinterpretations have led to abuses that have consequences which benefit large corporations at the expense of individual homeowners and local communities i.e. Kelo v. City of New London (Oyez, 2005). Many dealings involving eminent domain have justly compensated those whose land was taken as a result of “public use”. In the context of the court cases pertaining to the subject of the eminent domain it is the abuses of the power of the government that is being examined more thoroughly then the situations were it is used properly.

As the following topics examine eminent domain in the context of the courts and law it should be noted that the Fifth Amendment initially only applied to federal government, not the state government. However the interpretation of the Supreme Court (United States Congress, 2005) suggests that through the due-process clause of