Law Commons^™

Palazzolo, Lucas, And Penn Central: The Need For Pragmatism, Symbolism, And Ad Hoc Balancing, F. Patrick Hubbard

Faculty Publications

The constitutional right to compensation for a governmental taking of property is relatively easy to apply in situations involving a straightforward, physical appropriation of land for a public use like a highway. However, difficulties arise when governmental action consists only of rules that limit an owner's use of land. In most situations, these limits are viewed as burdens an individual is properly subject to as a citizen and land owner. From this perspective, the exercise of the "police power" of the government, which has traditionally been used to prohibit public and private harms, does not usually involve a taking of …