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Eminent Domain

Format: DVD | Streaming | Download
Length: 16:18
Grade Level: 4-12+
Closed Captioned:

Streaming/DVD: English

Is it ever okay to take someone's property and give it to someone else?



In 2005, the US Supreme Court took on the most important property rights case in the history of our country. The Kelo v. New London case pitted homeowners in New London, CT against city officials who wanted to use the power of eminent domain to redevelop the area in the hope of creating jobs and increasing tax revenues. The homeowners resisted, arguing that eminent domain power should only be used for public projects like roads and schools. Ultimately, however, the Court upheld the city's right to turn over the homeowners' property to private land developers.

Since that ruling, the use of eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another private owner has increased dramatically. The controversial Kelo decision sparked a nation-wide debate about the importance of property rights that continues today.

Eminent Domain tells the real-life stories of three Americans fighting to prevent their property from being taken in the name of redevelopment.