Mr. E. W. Kittredge for plaintiffs in error. Facts of the case [ edit] True, its sphere is limited. That is left to the ordinary processes of the law; and hence, as the government is a suitor for the property under a claim of legal right to take it, there appears to be no reason for holding that the proper Circuit Court has not jurisdiction of the suit, under the general grant of jurisdiction made by the act of 1789. For information on the history of the Land Acquisition Section, see the History of the Section. 170; Payne v. Hook, 7 Wall. Condemnation was used to acquire lands for the Shenandoah, Mammoth Cave, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. Co., 106 Mass. This means that states may have seized property for public use without just compensation. This requirement, it is said, was made by the Act of Congress of June 1, 1872, 17 Stat. Beyond that, there exists no necessity; which alone is the foundation of the right. 249. United States | Oyez Koon v. United States Media Oral Argument - February 20, 1996 Opinions Syllabus View Case Petitioner Koon Respondent United States Docket no. The two defendants below, former state officials Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, executed the scheme after Fort Lee's . 'The term [suit] is understood to apply to any proceeding in a court of justice by which an individual pursues that remedy which the law affords.' 2 Pet. Why speak of condemnation at all, if Congress had not in view an exercise of the right of eminent domain, and did not intend to confer upon the secretary the right to invoke it? 39, gave authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase a central and suitable site in the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the erection of a building for the accommodation of the United States courts, custom house, United States depository, post office, internal revenue and pension offices, at a cost not exceeding $300,000, and a proviso to the act declared that no money should be expended in the purchase until the State of Ohio should cede its jurisdiction over the site and relinquish to the United States the right to tax the property. 523, Chief Justice Taney described in plain language the complex nature of our government, and the existence of two distinct and separate sovereignties within the same territorial space, each of them restricted in its powers, and each, within its sphere of action prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, independent of the other. Early federal cases condemned property for construction of public buildings (e.g., Kohl v. United States) and aqueducts to provide cities with drinking water (e.g., United States v. Great Falls Manufacturing Company, 112 U.S. 645 (1884), supplying water to Washington, D.C.), for maintenance of navigable waters (e.g., United States v. Chandler-Dunbar Co., 229 U.S. 53 (1913), acquiring land north of St. Marys Falls canal in Michigan), and for the production of war materials (e.g. 229, where lands were condemned by a proceeding in a state court and under a state law for a United States fortification. These are needed for forts, armories, and arsenals, for navy yards and lighthouses, for custom houses, post offices, and courthouses, and for other public uses. The right of eminent domain is an 'inseparable incident of sovereignty.' It is said they are both valuations of the property to be made as the legislature may prescribe, to enable the government, in the one case, to take the whole of it, and in the other to take a part of it for public uses; and it is argued that no one but Congress could prescribe in either case that the valuation should be made in a judicial tribunal or in a judicial proceeding, although it is admitted that the legislature might authorize the valuation to be thus made in either case. Decided February 24, 1972. 921, p. 175. Vattel, c. 20, 34; Bynk., lib. The Landmarks Law was more closely related to a zoning ordinance than eminent domain, and New York had a right to restrict construction in the public interest of protecting the general welfare of the surrounding area. This is apparent from the language of the same section of the act of Congress of June 10, 1872, which appropriated a further sum for the 'purchase' of a site in Cincinnati, and also appropriated money 'to obtain by purchase, or to obtain by condemnation in the courts of the State of Massachusetts,' a site for a post-office in Boston. It. The Judiciary Act of 1789 conferred upon the circuit courts of the United States jurisdiction of all suits at common law or in equity, when the United States, or any officer of it, operating under the authority of any act of Congress, was a plaintiff. In Shoemaker v. United States, 147 U.S. 282 (1893), the Supreme Court affirmed the actions of Congress. It was not error to refuse the tenants' demand for a separate trial in the matter. Doubtless Congress might have provided a mode of taking the land, and determining the compensation to be made, which would have been exclusive of all other modes. ; 21 R. S., ch. It can hardly be doubted that Congress might provide for inquisition as to the value of property to be taken by similar instrumentalities; and yet, if the proceeding be a suit at common law, the intervention of a jury would be required by the seventh amendment to the Constitution. They then demanded a separate trial of the value of their estate in the property; which demand the court also overruled. Contact the Webmaster to submit comments. Hawaii sought to use eminent domain to prevent a concentration of private ownership, a purpose generally associated with good democratic governance. The Land Acquisition Section and its earlier iterations represented the United States in these cases, thereby playing a central role in early United States infrastructure projects.Condemnation cases like that against the Gettysburg Railroad Company exemplify another use for eminent domain: establishing parks and setting aside open space for future generations, preserving places of historic interest and remarkable natural beauty, and protecting environmentally sensitive areas. That it was not enforced through the agency of a jury is immaterial; for many civil as well as criminal proceedings at common law were without a jury. In Weston v. Charleston, 2 Pet. In terms of public use, Justice Peckham, on behalf of the majority wrote, No narrow view of the character of this proposed use should be taken. There are three acts of Congress which have reference to the acquisition of a site for a post-office in Cincinnati. That ascertainment is in its nature at least quasi-judicial. The statute treats all the owners of a parcel as one party, and gives to them collectively a trial separate from the trial of the issues between the government and the owners of other parcels. This was a proceeding instituted by the United States to appropriate a parcel of land in the city of Cincinnati as a site for a post-office and other public uses. It is necessary for the government to be able to seize property for its uses, such as creating infrastructure, which ultimately are determined by the legislature and not the judiciary. The plaintiffs in error, Kohl and others, owned a perpetual leasehold estate in a portion of the property in Cincinnati. 723; Dickey v. Turnpike Co., 7 Dana 113; McCullough v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. What is that but an implied assertion, that, on making just compensation, it may be taken? If the proceeding was properly brought in the Circuit Court, then the act of Congress of June 1, 1872, 17 Stat. Such was the ruling in Gilmer v. Lime Point, 18 Cal. Congress wanted to acquire land to preserve the site of the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. When, in the eleventh section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, jurisdiction of suits of a civil nature at common law or in equity was given to the circuit courts, it was intended to embrace not merely suits which the common law recognized as among its old and settled proceedings, but suits in which legal rights were to be ascertained and determined as distinguished from rights in equity, as well as suits in admiralty. Kelo alleged that the seizure of her property was a violation of the public use element of the Fifth Amendment takings clause because the land would be used for economic development, which is not solely public. But there is no special provision for ascertaining the just compensation to be made for land taken. Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. If the supposed anslogy be admitted, it proves nothing. The 1930s brought a flurry of land acquisition cases in support of New Deal policies that aimed to resettle impoverished farmers, build large-scale irrigation projects, and establish new national parks. But generally, in statutes as in common use, the word is employed in a sense not technical, only as meaning acquisition by contract between the parties, without governmental interference. But there is no special provision for ascertaining the just compensation to be made for land taken. But, admitting that the court was bound to conform to the practice and proceedings in the state courts in like cases, we do not perceive that any error was committed. 2009)) and the creation of Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. The statute of Ohio, 69 Ohio Laws, 88, requires that the trial be had as to each parcel of land taken, not as to separate interest in each parcel. The proceeding to ascertain the value of property which the government may deem necessary to the execution of its powers, and thus the compensation to be made for its appropriation, is not a suit at common law or in equity, but an inquisition for the ascertainment of a particular fact as preliminary to the taking; and all that is required is that the proceeding shall be conducted in some fair and just mode, to be provided by law, either with or without the intervention of a jury, opportunity being afforded to parties interested to present evidence as to the value of the property, and to be heard thereon. v. UNITED STATES. Such ThoughtCo. 356, where land was taken under a state law as a site for a post office and subtreasury building. Rehearing Denied August 2, 2001. Co., 4 Ohio St. 323, 324; West River Bridge v. Dix, 6 How. Date published: Jan 1, 1875 Citations Copy Citation 91 U.S. 367 (1875) Citing Cases PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey By the second half of the 19th century, however, this Court confirmed that federal eminent domain extended to Georgia Power Co. v. 54.20 Acres of Land Additionally, the state legislature has just as much power to make this determination as Congress. Co., 106 Mass. It is difficult, then, to see why a proceeding to take land in virtue of the government's eminent domain, and determining the compensation to be made for it, is not, within the meaning of the statute, a suit at common law, when initiated in a court. 99-8508. Neither of these cases denies the right of the Federal government to have lands in the States condemned for its uses under its own power and by its own action. In this case, the State delegates its sovereign power of eminent domain. 99-8508. Albert Hanson Lumber Company v. United States, 261 U.S. 581 (1923), for instance, allowed the United States to take and improve a canal in Louisiana. The proceeding by the states, in the. 1. In Cooley on Constitutional Limitations 526 it is said: "So far as the general government may deem it important to appropriate lands or other property for its own purposes and to enable it to perform its functions -- as must sometimes be necessary in the case of forts, lighthouses, and military posts or roads and other conveniences and necessities of government -- the general government may exercise the authority as well within the states as within the territory under its exclusive jurisdiction, and its right to do so may be supported by the same reasons which support the right in any case -- that is to say the absolute necessity that the means in the government for performing its functions and perpetuating its existence should not be liable to be controlled or defeated by the want of consent of private parties or of any other authority.". Its existence, therefore, in the grantee of that power ought not to be questioned. The right is the offspring of political necessity, and it is inseparable. The United States Congress then enacted three legislations which allowed for the appropriation of the property. Neither of these cases denies the right of the federal government to have lands in the states condemned for its uses under its own power and by its own action. Contacting Justia or any attorney through this site, via web form, email, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship. The judgment of the Circuit Court is affirmed. The concept of eminent domain is connected to the functionality of the government, because the government needs to acquire property for infrastructure and services like public schools, public utilities, parks, and transit operations. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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