KU News Release

Prominent attorney to discuss eminent domain at KU’s Dole Institute

LAWRENCE — The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host “Liberty, Property and Eminent Domain: The Impact of Kelo” with Timothy Sandefur at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28.

Sandefur is a senior staff attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, where he is a lead attorney in the Economic Liberty Project. The project works to prevent further government regulation of business. He has filed briefs in many eminent domain cases, including the landmark Kelo v. City of New London Supreme Court case.

“Frequently, overzealous governments use eminent domain to infringe on the most basic of liberties — personal property rights,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. “Tim Sandefur will address this issue with a particular emphasis on the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision and its impact.”

The program is free and open to the public.

Sandefur is author of the book “Cornerstone of Liberty: Property Rights in 21st Century America” (Cato Institute 2006). He is a contributing editor to Liberty magazine and has written articles for National Review Online, the Humanist, the San Francisco Chronicle, Regulation and the Washington Times. His published work covers many topics including eminent domain, economic liberty, evolution and creationism, and the legal issues of slavery and the Civil War.

Kelo v. City of New London was decided by the Supreme Court in 2005. The 5-4 decision ruled in favor of using eminent domain to transfer land from a private owner to further economic development in New London, Conn. This use of eminent domain was deemed appropriate by the court using the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

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