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the Fourteenth Amendment it incorporates each amendment within the Bill of Rights to each state individually. Therefore the Fourth Amendment applies the limitations of the Fifth Amendment to the states (United States Congress, 2005). The information will assist in understanding the Supreme Court Judges' use of logic in their decisions and opinions. The following cases will be discussed in chorological order in order to examine the progression of logic used by the Supreme Court judges and to examine the time period the case took place in order to observe any historical influences to their decisions.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on a major eminent-domain case, Berman v. Parker. In Berman v. Parker (1954), the case will set precedent for Justice O'Connor's argument in the Kelo opinion. The case came from D.C.'s “urban renewal” plan in which the government condemned slum areas in Washington's community. The process included the removal of citizens from blighted areas of the District of Columbia. Although the Washington D.C. local government was compensating people for the takings, many of the removed property owners protested to being forced to sell their homes. Their argument was that the government's “urban renewal” plan did not satisfy the requirements for an eminent domain order, nor did the power of eminent domain expand to legislative plans labeled “urban renewal.” In addition a department store was in the designated area. The store owners argued that the store itself contradicted the idea of “urban renewal” due to the fact that the store did not constitute blight. The U.S. Supreme Court found in favor of the government. The Court's argument of the decision was that the purpose of “urban renewal” was a justifiable governmental act:

The Court believed that eminent domain could be applied to development projects such as “urban renewal” even if the ownership of the property would eventually be received by private individuals instead of being in the possession of the D.C. government:

The Supreme Court's decision in the Berman case concluded that the Supreme Court can find terms such as “urban renewal” legitimate as a basis for an eminent domain order. Those who believe in the literal interpretation of the Fifth Amendment consider terms similar to “urban renewal” contradict the original understanding of the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Olivetti, 2003) This is in agreement the future argument of Justice O'Conner in her decision in the Kelo case. Oppositely, the Court argued that the use of eminent domain require a broad and general interpretation of the taking clause. In the opinion of the Kelo case Justice Douglas commented on precisely on this area of discussion:

Douglas noted the problem of taking from one business for the benefit of another business, presented by the landowners, was proven justifiable due to the fact that Congress created an entire redevelopment plan. The Supreme Court found that although there are properties that do not fall under the purview of “public use” their service under the function of the redevelopment plan therefore serve a public purpose. In the Supreme Courts ruling, Justice Douglas stated that the definition of “public use” expanded to include physical, aesthetic, and monetary benefits.

In examination, the decision of the Court to up hold the “urban renewal” redevelopment plan was most likely influenced by the