The recent 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kelo vs. City of New London, sets a new precedent in law that has a potentially highly damaging effect on all privately owned property. This new ruling allows the government to seize private property and hand it over to another private owner (with "just" compensation, of course) for the purpose of creating more tax revenue, which is supposedly more beneficial to the community.

In this case, a group of private landowners who owned property in a 90-acre site had their land condemned to build office buildings, upscale housing, and a marina, among other things. These landowners, among them one who had recently remodeled her home, and an elderly woman who was born and raised in a house on that land, resisted the condemnation because the first owner liked the view of the water and the second had lived there all her life. Amendment V of the United States Constitution states that: "Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This is the sticking point in the case. The Constitution states that land may be taken for public use not private. Therefore, the landowners appealed to the Supreme Court on that basis.

The majority making this decision wrote that in the past, "public use" has been interpreted as not only the building of highways and bridges, but also slum clearance and land redistribution. The majority also stated that promoting economic development has always been a major function of government. I agree with this. However, this ruling could be seen by those corrupted by greed and power as an opening to roll over the common people, especially minorities, to take private property to increase their own personal wealth. The governments of the cities in which this ruling has an effect now, are overjoyed by this decision. They claim that this is a great opportunity to "rejuvenate their neighborhoods." In other words, uproot all the old, non-working people living in prime areas and build a shopping mall or hotel that is more "beneficial" to the community. These decisions are supposed to create more jobs and generate more tax revenue, but really all they will be doing is destroying hundreds of homes and families, living peacefully where they are, suddenly uprooted by the government to build a shopping mall to the benefit of wealthy campaign contributors.

This is a ridiculous abuse of the power of Eminent Domain. Politicians can now decide to build things in the "public interest" when really they are just feathering their own nest. I am sure that the crooked politicians out there will leap at the chance to curry some big developer’s favor by condemning property on a piece of land that the developer covets.

Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissenting opinion states: "Urban renewal has historically resulted in displacement of minorities, the elderly and the poor." This is a sad, but true fact, that there are unscrupulous politicians out there; who, under the façade of "the public interest" will not stop short of picking on the little guy to curry favor with some high-powered lobbyist. In the words of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: "The specter of condemnation hangs over all property.

Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory." She writes that this ruling unfairly favors the influential and powerful in society who can easily buy off, or for a lack of opposition get what they want.

I think that however good intentioned this ruling was, it will turn out for the worse as we will see the interests of the little guy getting trampled by corporate interests and big money. I certainly hope that the Supreme Court wises up to the consequences of the bad precedent that they have created and reverses this horrible decision.

Brian Piotrowski is a 10th grader at Punahou. He plans to study to become a dentist, or maybe an engineer and plans to be a Scoutmaster in his local Boy Scout Troop. He’s an Eagle Scout and plays football for Punahou

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