In California, there’s never been a tougher time to be in the business of taking private property from one person and giving it to another. First, Governor Jerry Brown proposed eliminating the state’s 400 some redevelopment agencies. Now, the agencies have been told by the courts that declaring blight just won’t do: They actually have to prove it before they can use eminent domain. The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. New London said that economic development was a valid use of eminent domain, as long as the government is following …
For just the second time in its history, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear a case on school choice. The high court decided that it will hear an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Arizona’s scholarship tax credit program is unconstitutional. Nearly 30,000 children benefit from Arizona’s tax credit program, which allows individuals to receive income tax credits for contributing to a scholarship-granting organization. A press release from the American Federation for Children stated: The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case provides …
Yesterday, the teachers unions and the ACLU celebrated a victory: the Arizona State Supreme Court ruled that two school voucher programs serving special needs students and foster children were unconstitutional under state law. Of course, this victory for liberal interest groups is a big setback for some of the most at-risk children in Arizona. The Institute for Justice, which defended the program in court, highlighted the impact that this ruling could have on one family: One of those children will be Lexie Weck, a six-year-old little girl with autism, cerebral …
