State powers don’t eclipse the Bill of Rights

Police damaged a home in Indiana and a California business, each in a fruitless search for perpetrators. In the aftermath, authorities refused to compensate the property owners for the wreckage incurred, saying their actions were ‘necessary.’ 

The midterm elections have largely overshadowed the U.S. Supreme Court’s most recent term, which began this month. Last week, the justices missed a prime opportunity to invigorate the Fifth Amendment’s taking clause.

The Bill of Rights prohibits governments from taking private property “for public use without just compensation.” 

Yet some lower courts have carved out a loophole for this protection when it comes to actions taken by law enforcement officers carrying out their duties. Yet no such language exists in the text of the Fifth Amendment.

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