Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [136]
July 30, 2004
The minute he saw the decision, Wes Horton became concerned. In County of Wayne v. Hathcock, the Michigan Supreme Court had just overturned a prior decision allowing the City of Detroit to bulldoze a neighborhood with more than a thousand residents and six hundred businesses to make way for a more lucrative occupant—a General Motors plant. The Michigan justices had ignored decades of precedent and declared it unconstitutional to take private land through eminent domain and then award it to someone else who could generate more tax revenue for the city.
When the Institute for Justice had filed its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court less than two weeks earlier, no state Supreme Court had been in direct conflict with the Connecticut Supreme Court’s Kelo decision. Now one was. And it was a big one. The Michigan court decision unanimously repudiated the Connecticut court’s conclusion.
Horton couldn’t believe the timing. What were the odds that another state Supreme Court would issue a decision in direct conflict with the Connecticut court right as the U.S. Supreme Court was weighing whether to accept the Kelo case?
Horton didn’t know the answer. But he figured the chances of the U.S. Supreme Court’s taking the Kelo case had just jumped from 1 percent to about 10 percent.
Realizing her days in Fort Trumbull were numbered, Susette figured she’d better find a place to go. With Von Winkle’s help, she located a small house in Old Lyme, less than a half hour from New London. It lacked what she had in Fort Trumbull—historic value, great water views, and the surrounding close-knit neighborhood. But her only criterion now was affordability. The house in Old Lyme needed a complete makeover, which drove the price down to within her range. Her sons, most of whom were carpenters and tradesmen, promised to remodel the house at no cost.
Susette couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her cottage at 8 East Street. But Von Winkle assured her that she’d be foolish not to secure another place, especially with LeBlanc’s medical needs. Pinning hope on the Supreme Court was like going to a casino with the expectation of beating the house.
September 17, 2004
“Despotism in New London.” Just the headline made Tom Londregan’s blood boil. Syndicated columnist George Will had taken up the cause of the Kelo case. “Soon—perhaps on the first Monday in October—the court will announce whether it will appeal a 4 to 3 ruling last March by Connecticut’s Supreme Court,” Will wrote. “That ruling effectively repeals a crucial portion of the Bill of Rights. If you think the term ‘despotism’ exaggerates what this repeal permits, consider the life-shattering power wielded by the government of New London, Conn.”
Londregan couldn’t believe his eyes. One of the most influential political commentators in the country had chimed in on the Kelo case right as the Supreme Court was weighing whether to accept it for review. And besides brutalizing New London for running roughshod over its Fort Trumbull residents, Will brought up the Michigan case, saying the conflicting opinions between state Supreme Courts cried out for clarification from the nation’s top court.
“In considering whether to take the New London case, the U.S. Supreme Court surely sees, at a minimum, the dangerous emptying of meaning from the Fifth Amendment’s ‘public use’ provision,” Will concluded. “If the court refuses to review the Connecticut ruling, its silence will effectively ratify state-level judicial vandalism that is draining the phrase ‘public use’ of its power to perform the framers’ clearly intended function.”
Furious, Londregan called Horton, who had also seen Will’s column. The timing of Will’s piece stymied Horton more than his argument. He couldn’t help wondering what had prompted Will to weigh in now. The fact that he had directly called the Supreme Court’s attention to the Michigan case in the pages of the Washington Post had to have an impact. Now Horton figured that the chances of the Kelo case’s getting selected had just jumped to about fifty-fifty.