Justices Affirm Property Seizures

[denton]

I just don't understand this schizophrenic court.

In the marijuana case, they ruled that the federal government can regulate anything they want to regulate, whether it ever traveled in interstate commerce or not, under the interstate commerce clause. They basically trashed the concept of the federal government's powers being few and enumerated.

In the KELO case, they ruled that the federal government couldn't intervene if a state or local government wanted to seize private property on behalf of another private party. They basically said that they would not intervene in what they considered a local issue...just the opposite philosophy of the marijuana case.

Now we are in a position where a federal branch of government has done something evil, and the other two branches of federal government are practically powerless to stop it, because the constitution gives them no power to legislate in that area.

Bizarre.

I hope they do make a serious run at seizing Souter's home.

Fortunately, we have a state law here in Utah strictly limiting the uses of eminent domain.