Kelo v. New London

The Supreme Court of the United States has made several rulings that have shaped the power of local governments over the taking of private property beginning with City of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Inc. in 1926. One of the basic tenets of the Court is to try and maintain a prior decision’s direction or reasoning. This is known as Stare Decisis. In 2005, the Court announced its decision in the case of Kelo, et al. v. City of New London. You will be responsible for reading the Opinion of the Court, a Concurrence and the two Dissents (for the reading, you can simply google: Kelo v. New London. Read the Opinion, Concurrence and 2 Dissents)

These documents refer to prior cases and how the writer believes the instant case (Kelo) should be decided based on those cases. After reading at least two of the cases cited in the Kelo Decision, you will write a short paper describing how the Court applied precedent in Kelo with respect to a property owner’s rights under the Fifth Amendment. Your paper must give your opinion as to whether (or not) Stare Decisis was respected by the Justices who comprised the Majority.