RichmondLiberty.org

by Robert Russo

For those who could not attend last week's Henrico convention, John Taylor of the Virginia Institute For Public Policy is an accomplished libertarian lobbyist and former party leader. He had all the elements to inspire libertarians a speaker could possibly bring, being the founder of both a nonpartisan research group and the lobbying organization Tertium Quids (legally one organization can't be both, so it's rare to meet an accredited researcher and political activist in the same person). He cited his successful initiatives as state chairman of the party in Georgia and its transformation from an under-funded, poorly run minority into a success that at times left the major parties with egg on their face. It was for me a glimpse of a greater proficiency in libertarianism than most of us have seen in Virginia, and I am glad he has taken his fight to this state.

He passed out some reading material including "The Real Story of Eminent Domain in Virginia" by Jeremy P. Hopkins, a VIPP report published last December. This document outlines the history of property rights and their demise in Virginia with horror stories that would move anyone who reads it. Basically the rights to property we as Virginians take faith in to conduct our daily lives are guaranteed by the constitution, judicial precedents and clearly spoken intentions of the Founding Fathers, but do not exist if that property stands to benefit whatever special interest wants it. Each case pits an ambiguous but affluent entity (such as Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner of Virginia) against ordinary families (Hunter, Cartwright, Stull etc.), with the semblance of a fair trial between two clients, but is in fact the new legal relationship of eminent domain, that of the "condemnor" and the "condemnee".*

The condemnor is one of a long list of entities (VDOT, Mosquito Control Commission etc.) appointed by local government which takes action "condemning" private landowners to lose their property without trial (and in many cases revokes their right to trial). As a condemnee the citizen also forfeits their right to appeal once this label has been placed on them by the condemnor. In many cases the sole purpose of taking land from its rightful owner is to grant it to more affluent citizens and corporations (for a parking lot, shopping mall etc.). The condemnor may not even notify the owners that their land is being confiscated, because if they file a request through the courts and the owner is not there to dispute the property's worth, they can name whatever arbitrary compensation they choose and not even have to pay it before they take possession. This is known as the "quick-take power".*

These entities are faceless political thugs with little motive of their own, hired by local authorities and big business to disassociate these crimes from their source (usually decided in marketing meetings). In Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner vs. Warwick Lodge, VDOT refused to pay for the land it had seized with the bogus claim that the owner's title was bad. When this stalling tactic was disproven they then charged rent to the owner for living on his own land. In East Tennessee Natural Gas Co. vs. Thomas, the court appointed a commission to determine the amount the landowner was entitled to and then declared a mistrial because the assessment was too high. The second trial was by jury whose assessment was also thrown out for being too high. In cases where the citizen actually wins, condemnors have lost millions rather than pay the owner the true value of their land to begin with.*

This "continuing and public threat of condemnation" is the poorly concealed truth that the entire class (with few exceptions) to which legislators and business moguls belong sees only the color green, and nothing preventing them from taking their neighbors' ground. The lawsuits themselves are the only remnant of democracy. These entities "view themselves as an ordinary market participant", as if their acquisitions were a normal consensual sale and not a theft.* What they are condemning us to is a nomadic existence where deeds are not worth their ink and our other rights may as well topple like dominos. Turning the tide would mean electing (non-affluent) landowners themselves or anyone who cares about them.

In Mr. Taylor's words there has been a transfer of sovereignty, the peoples' influence is denied. I would recommend all libertarians read this work at www.virginiainstitute.org/pdf/V002-0017EminentDomain.pdf, which goes into great detail on the fight against eminent domain (such as Del. Johnny Joannou's bill last year which was intended to be a direct action by the Assembly, but was routed to the constitution with the rest of ignored property legislation).* It says something of the unique political quagmire Virginia has become when such well-spoken and accomplished men are fighting an uphill battle here, which Mr. Taylor calls the "ultimate good ol' boy" scenario. He also represents the Tuesday Morning Group coalition which meets monthly in Richmond.

*http://www.virginiainstitute.org/pdf/V002-0017EminentDomain.pdf