San Jose State University, Department of Economics
DAVID S. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES
presents:
Scott Bullock
"Taking Homes for Shopping Malls: The Supreme Court's Kelo Decision"
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
5:15-6:45 P.M.
Music Hall Auditorium
STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC ARE ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND.
In June 2005, The U.S. Supreme Court held for the first time that
governments may use the power of eminent domain to take property for
private economic development projects. Kelo vs. City of New London has
probably become the most universally despised Court decision in decades.
It has generated numerous legislative efforts and state court rulings that
have rejected the notion that government can seize homes, small
businesses, and other types of private property for so-called "higher and
better" uses. Scott Bullock will analyze the case from both a
constitutional and practical perspective. He will also report on the
incredible grassroots backlash against eminent domain abuse unleashed in
the wake of Kelo. Come and learn about this vital current issue.
Scott Bullock is Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice in
Washington, D.C., and litigates property rights, free speech, and other
constitutional cases in federal and state courts. He was co-counsel in and
argued the landmark Kelo case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was also
co-counsel in the first state Supreme Court case to address eminent domain
abuse after Kelo, in which the Ohio's Supreme Court unanimously stopped
the use of eminent domain for private development. Bullock has worked with
property owners in scores of other cities, including litigation that saved
the land and homes of the Archie family in Canton, Mississippi, from an
effort by the state to take them for a Nissan plant. For that
accomplishment, he was awarded in 2002 the top civil rights prize by the
Mississippi chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He
has appeared in the NEW YORK TIMES, in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, on 60
Minutes, on ABC Nightly News, and on National Public Radio. Bullock was
born in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and grew up outside of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He received his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh
and his B.A. in economics and philosophy from Grove City College.
ABOUT THE DAVID R. SAURMAN PROVOCATIVE LECTURE SERIES: The Department of
Economics invites students, faculty, and the general public to consider
intellectual arguments on controversial topics. Presenters in the
Provocative Lecture Series are noted for their outstanding scholarship and
public speaking ability. This lecture series fosters the tradition of
higher education to challenge ideas and develop critical thinking in an
environment of respect and intellectual discourse. Our goal is for you to
develop the critical thinking skills necessary to reach your own informed
position on controversial issues. We invite you to attend, to relax, to
ponder, and to enjoy the thought process.