Andy Martin defends Donald Trump against attacks by some conservatives
on the question of Trump’s support for the concept of eminent domain
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ANDY MARTIN /2016
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Republican presidential candidate and adjunct
professor of law Andy Martin defends Donald Trump on the issue of eminent
domain
In
the Sixth of his “Letters From the 2016 Presidential Campaign” Andy defends one
of his opponents, Donald Trump, in a controversy over Trump’s views on the
issue of “eminent domain”
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(New York October 8, 2015 ) Dear
American:
You may be confused by the kerfuffle involving
“conservatives” and Donald Trump over the principle of eminent domain. The
dispute is simply a tempest in a teapot and Trump is right on this one. I don’t
like to openly defend Trump because he is, after all, a competitor. But the
over-the-top efforts by some so-called conservatives to attack Trump on the
question of eminent domain are ridiculous. As a constitutional scholar and
litigator I feel duty bound to defend Trump where he is right.
I obviously am not going to be the presidential nominee of
the Republican Party. But in my continuing role as a candidate I will act as a
one-man truth squad to point out excesses and errors in judgment by members of
my own party during the presidential nominating process. And I remain
unalterably opposed to Jeb Bush as a candidate.
1. What is eminent domain?
Eminent domain is the legal doctrine by which private property
may be taken for public use. The term “public use” has been given a broad
interpretation by the courts, which is what upsets some conservatives.
2. Is eminent domain a constitutional doctrine?
While eminent domain is not mentioned in so many words, the
principle/concept of eminent domain is part of the Fifth Amendment (often known
for some of its more colorful clauses) to the U. S. Constitution. The founders
felt the principle of just compensation (i.e. the payment of just compensation
for private property being taken by government) was so important that they
enshrined the doctrine of just compensation in the Constitution.
3. Why is eminent domain controversial?
People feel “proprietary” about their property. They often
do not like to part with what they own, or may have been owned in a family for
generations. But “taking” private property for public good, as Mr. Trump notes,
is usually not controversial, although it is often opposed even when it is not
controversial. For example, when Congress authorized the interstate highway
system, it was obvious that ribbons of concrete were going to be placed across
the entire country. Where people did not want to sell property for construction
of a highway, their property was taken, in this case for the national good. They
were compensated fully for that taking, even though they continued to complain.
Full disclosure: for the past four years I have helped lead
a fight against Northern Pass New Hampshire
that I believe is ill-advised. Northern
Pass
4. When does eminent domain become controversial?
Eminent domain usually becomes controversial when a government
tries to engage in quasi-governmental activity such as economic development.
The case which gets conservative juices flowing, Kelo v. New
London
Reasonable people can differ about whether the New
London scheme was well thought out. The decision was a
close one. Kelo fell right on the line between “obviously right” and
“obviously wrong.”
But with all of the national challenges we face, I simply do
not see eminent domain as a major issue in the presidential campaign. Not even
in the Republican Party primaries. Rather, some conservatives are using the
concept of eminent domain as a pretext to unjustifiably smear Donald Trump for
his support of a doctrine that has been part of our national jurisprudence for
centuries.
Usually an eminent domain case becomes controversial when an
elderly person is offered a large sum of money for what is actually worth much less
and refuses the enhanced price (see below) and the person refuses to sell.
5. Is Trump an “eminent domainer?” Indeed he is
Trump is usually attacked for seeking to have property taken
by eminent domain to construct a parking lot for a casino he was building in New
Jersey . There was a dilapidated rooming house on a
corner of Trump’s proposed project. My recollection is that eminent domain
failed and the effort to incorporate the rooming house property in the Trump
casino was unsuccessful. Is that the end of the story? Not by a country mile.
First, Trump was creating a major source of employment in a
community that was economically distressed. With economic development as a
national priority, it is hard to criticize someone for developing a project
that will create hundreds or thousands of new jobs. Hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of new jobs hinged on Trump's construction program.
Second, the person who owned the property was dotty. She not
only refused “just compensation” for her land, she refused Trump’s offers which
were on their economic merits far beyond reason. Again, my recollection is that
Trump offered the owner around $2 million for the rooming house (research
project: check the details and send them to me). The rooming house was not
remotely worth $2 million; it only had an enhanced value as part of an
assemblage of a larger parcel such as Trump’s casino.
Trump went ahead and built the hotel/casino without the
rooming house land (he later sold out his casino interests). What happened to
the rooming house? Recently the rooming house was sold for a few hundred
thousand dollars, a small fraction of what Trump had offered. In other words,
someone who owned a property worth maybe $500,000 was offered $2 million cash
for the land by Trump and refused to sell. How many of us would feel that the
owner refusing such a deal was rational? Would you turn down $2 million for a
property you owned which was only worth $500,000? Not very likely.
Trump’s overall development scheme at the time had great
economic potential (although Atlantic City
later declined as a resort once other gambling locations opened). The owner of the
rooming house was being offered four or five times the market value of her
property for what was on its appearance barely more than a dumpy property. Is
this “dispute” really worth the effort? Or are conservatives unfairly trying to
flail Trump?
6. The bottom line
While there may be rare injustices, people who negotiate in
eminent domain cases usually receive above market value for their property. The
“just compensation” clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
protects property owners. So why are “conservatives” trying to smear Trump?
They just don’t like the man and they have, pardon the term, trumped up a bogus
issue to attack him.
As the newscaster Paul Harvey used to say, “and now you know
the rest of the story.” Mr. Trump has the far better position in this debate.
The conservatives are trying to make something out of nothing. If you don’t
like him, by all means vote again Trump. But don’t vote against him on the
basis of a bogused-up issue.
STILL COMING: Dr. Carson and a Muslim president; a
work-in-progress.
Copies of Andy’s 2008 book on Barack Obama are available
from the publisher (see below).
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ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO :
Andy Martin is a
legendary New Hampshire New York Washington USA
Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American
politics and courts for over forty-five years and is executive director of the
National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of
Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City
University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).
He is the author
of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the
Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the
Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com
and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.
Andy’s family
immigrated to Manchester , New
Hampshire Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where
he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire
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