Washington, DC – On news this morning that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the Fifth Amendment “takings” case of Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, Constitutional Accountability Center President Doug Kendall had the following reaction:

“Today’s ruling is judicial activism at its worst.  It will harm both property owners and state and local officials by injecting judges into the land-use planning process, making it more difficult for state and local officials to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the environment and promoting development.”

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Resources:

CAC’s “friend of the court” brief in Koontz, filed on behalf of the American Planning Association, the City of New York, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/koontz-v-st-johns-river-water-management-district 

“Commentary: The takings clause meets the Roberts Court,” National Law Journal, January 14, 2013: http://theusconstitution.org/news/commentary-takings-clause-meets-roberts-court 

“Property Rights Advocates Can’t Handle the Truth: Chief Justice Roberts, Takings Litigation, and Koontz,” January 14, 2013: https://theusconstitution.org/text-history/1767/property-rights-advocates-can%E2%80%99t-handle-truth-chief-justice-roberts-takings 

“Too Rich to Lose Money? AIG, the Takings Clause and the Roberts Court,” Huffington Post, January 14, 2013: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-kendall/too-rich-to-lose-money-ai_b_2471584.html 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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