Name: Caroline Deng

LBS HOMEWORK SHEETPrepare a separate homework sheet for each case that you have been assigned to read for class. Professor will collect these homework sheets at the end of each class session.

Name of Case in Proper Legal Citation FormatKelo v. City of New London

Who is/are the plaintiff(s) (i.e. consumer, company, employee, government) and what type of legal relief is/are the plaintiff(s) seeking? Plaintiff: Susette Kelo, Wilhelmina Dery, Charles Dery, etc. Kelo claimed that the taking of their properties by the city of New London would violate the “public use” restriction in the 5th Amendment.

What legal question must the court decide, and what is the common law rule, constitutional provision or statute that the question will turn on?Does the city’s proposed disposition of property to “revitalize an economically distressed city” qualify as a “public use” within the means of the Taking Clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution?

What is the court’s reasoning? (Might include reliance on precedent, statutory interpretation and legislative history & societal considerations) On the one hand, it is accepted that government can’t take private property for the sole purpose of transferring it to another private party, even though the first individual is paid just compensation. On the other hand, it is clear that the state can transfer property from one private party to another if “future use by the public” is the purpose of the taking. It cites a similar case called Midkiff, which held that the City’s development plan was not adopted “to benefit a particular class of identifiable individuals.”

In Berman v. Parker, the court upheld a redevelopment plan targeted a blighted area of Washington D. C. It brings forth the strong federalist traditions of the nation. Ultimately, because they believe that the plan unquestionably serves a public purpose, the takings challenged here satisfy the public use requirement of the 5th Amendment.

What is the precedent or holding established by the court’s ruling that will be followed in subsequent similar cases? Not just what the court does – such as reverses the decision of the court below or awards damages to plaintiff – but what is the proposition for which another party might cite the case?The 5th Amendment did not mean literal “public use;” it defines it more as “public purpose.” So, as long as a government can justify “public purpose,” it can take private land.