Fourth Amendment & Property Rights News

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a state law permitting labor union organizers to enter farmland without permission to try to organize workers was unconstitutional under the Fifth and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. The ruling was 6 to 3. In Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, the court considered a California regulation that allowed…

The Supreme Court returns for oral arguments Monday in a term that already is shaping up to be an exciting one. The justices already have heard arguments in cases involving the insanity defense; whether Title VII’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination; and the constitutionality of former President Barack Obama’s…

One of the most positive trends in American law is the nationwide effort to reform civil forfeiture laws. Since 2014, 33 states have taken steps to secure the property rights of their citizens by limiting the practice. Hawaii was poised to become the 34th state, but Gov. David Ige recently vetoed the bill. His veto…

Ever since the end of apartheid in the mid-1990s, people have hailed South Africa as a champion in the fight for justice and equality. In The Heritage Foundation’s 2018 Index of Economic Freedom, South Africa received the designation of “moderately free,” with its freedom score rising 0.7 points, due to significant improvements in investment freedom…

A husband-and-wife real estate team accused of teaming up with environmental activists and government officials to interfere with a Virginia farmer’s business have reached a legal settlement with the farmer, according to court records. Martha Boneta, who owns and operates the 64-acre Liberty Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Paris, Virginia,…

It now appears that President Donald Trump’s intention regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement is to mend it, not end it. That’s good news because the trade deal has been a stunning economic success for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Freer trade has meant steady increases in the volume of trade, greater competitiveness,…

The Trump administration has called for an “America first” trade policy. An important aspect of such a policy should be to protect Americans’ property from being stolen by foreign governments. Most U.S. trade agreements include a version of the Constitution’s “takings clause,” which requires governments to compensate Americans if they expropriate (i.e. steal) their property….

In last week’s decision in Murr v. Wisconsin, the Supreme Court upheld the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals’ ruling that two waterfront lots should be treated as a single unit in a “regulatory takings” case. In a blow to constitutionally guaranteed property rights, the decision denied a family just compensation for having the value of…

Russ Caswell, the owner of Motel Caswell in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, didn’t ask his guests why they had come. He offered basic accommodations to those who came through his doors. Not all of the guests were good people. A few brought their drug habits with them, and in 30 instances (over a period of 17 years…

The Fourth Amendment is still alive and well, thanks in part to a recent ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a Nov. 8 opinion, the court overruled a lower court decision and held that an Iraq War veteran, 1st Sgt. Matthew Corrigan, may pursue his claim for monetary damages against the District…

American farmers haven’t had the benefit of operating under a free market system since the early 20th century, property rights advocate Joel Salatin says. A critical turning point came when President Teddy Roosevelt established the Food Safety and Inspection Service, he says. The agency, now a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, draws its authority…

One of the biggest sources of grants in the nation’s smallest state rakes in taxpayer dollars while advancing centralized planning of environmental controls that burden entrepreneurs and taxpayers alike, its critics charge. The Rhode Island Foundation received hundreds of thousands of dollars from taxpayers over the past few years even as it awarded money to promote…

Virginia environmentalists and big landowners have made a concerted effort to interfere with the business activities of an organic farmer, claims a new lawsuit describing harassment that comes close to stalking. Martha Boneta, who owns and operates the 64-acre Liberty Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Paris, Va., seeks damages in…

Congress appears to be stepping up to the plate to kill the Environmental Protection Agency’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ water rule (known as the “waters of the United States” or WOTUS rule). Lawmakers just need to bring it home by sending legislation to the president. In doing so, Congress will be protecting Americans from environmental regulatory…

After clashing with a non-profit land trust over the terms and conditions of a conservation easement that sits on her property, Martha Boneta saw no alternative to litigation. That’s because the Piedmont Environmental Council, which serves as a co-holder of the easement, had overstepped its authority to the point where it was trespassing across her…

It seems incredible, but a single missing word could turn a water law into a government land grab so horrendous even a U.S. Supreme Court justice warned it would “put the property rights of every American entirely at the mercy of Environmental Protection Agency employees.” The missing word is “navigable.” The Obama administration is proposing…