Overview of takings law with suggestions for responding to the takings issue.

One of the most pressing issues in contemporary China is the massive rural land takings that have taken place at a scale unprecedented in human history. Expropriation of land has dispossessed and displaced millions for several decades, despite the protection of property rights in the Chinese constitution. Combining meticulous doctrinal analysis with in-depth historical investigation, Chun Peng tracks the origin and evolution of China's rural land takings law over the twentieth century and demonstrates an enduring tradition of land takings for state-led social transformation, under which the takings law is designed to be power-confirming. With changed socio-political circumstances and a new rights-respecting constitutional agenda, a rebalance of the law is now underway, but only within existing parameters. Peng provides a piercing analysis of how land has been used by the largest developing country in the world to develop itself, at what costs and where the future might be.

If legal scholar Richard Epstein is right, then the New Deal is wrong, if not unconstitutional. Epstein reaches this sweeping conclusion after making a detailed analysis of the eminent domain, or takings, clause of the Constitution, which states that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. In contrast to the other guarantees in the Bill of Rights, the eminent domain clause has been interpreted narrowly. It has been invoked to force the government to compensate a citizen when his land is taken to build a post office, but not when its value is diminished by a comprehensive zoning ordinance. Epstein argues that this narrow interpretation is inconsistent with the language of the takings clause and the political theory that animates it. He develops a coherent normative theory that permits us to distinguish between permissible takings for public use and impermissible ones. He then examines a wide range of government regulations and taxes under a single comprehensive theory. He asks four questions: What constitutes a taking of private property? When is that taking justified without compensation under the police power? When is a taking for public use? And when is a taking compensated, in cash or in kind? Zoning, rent control, progressive and special taxes, workers’ compensation, and bankruptcy are only a few of the programs analyzed within this framework. Epstein’s theory casts doubt upon the established view today that the redistribution of wealth is a proper function of government. Throughout the book he uses recent developments in law and economics and the theory of collective choice to find in the eminent domain clause a theory of political obligation that he claims is superior to any of its modern rivals.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook with Study Center on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities; practice questions from your favorite study aids; an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. Learn more about Connected eBooks. This hugely successful materials-and-problems book is acclaimed for its textual clarity, evenhanded perspective, and contemporary, up-to-date character. Easily distinguished from other property casebooks for its plain-language descriptions of legal doctrine; explanations of the social ramifications of our system of property law; emphasis on statutory and regulatory interpretation; comprehensive treatment of public accommodations and fair housing law, tribal property issues, and property in human bodies; and use of the problem method to teach legal reasoning and lawyering skills. Streamlined for more accessible teaching, the Eighth Edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect significant changes in the law of property, including in responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, in intellectual property, housing discrimination, regulatory takings, and more. Key Features: Updated to reflect significant changes in the law of property to help professors keep current and be aware of emerging disputes Streamlined to assist in making teaching from the casebook more accessible, without sacrificing coverage and depth New materials and problems have been added in an array of areas, including: The importance of race and slavery in shaping property law and distribution The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on several core areas of property law Growing questions about the balance between public accommodations and religious liberty, including Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 138 S. Ct. 1719 (2018) and its aftermath Emerging caselaw on the rights of people experiencing homelessness; Shifts in property rights emerging from marriage and non-marital intimate relationships; New materials on the law and practice of trusts and the impact of reproductive technologies Recent developments in tribal sovereignty disputes, including McGirt v. Oklahoma, 140 S. Ct. 2452 (2020) Developments in intellectual property, including in copyright and fair use Shifts in fair housing law, including developments involving landlord responsibility for tenant-to-tenant discriminatory harassment Recent Supreme Court developments in the realm of regulatory takings, including Murr v. Wisconsin, 137 S.Ct. 1933 (2017), Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019); and Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (to be decided by the end of this Term) Professors and students will benefit from: Clear, concise, accessible coverage of core property doctrines, through caselaw, statutes, and regulatory materials Fully updated engagement with contemporary controversies in our system of property; and Excellent opportunities for problem- and exercise-based learning in every section