China Could Use The Fifth Amendment To Protect Property Rights
The Wall Street Journal reported this morning on the imprisonment of a husband and wife who were trying to stop a development company from taking their property without paying just compensation. The couple was charged with the criminal offense of "obstructing official business". Confiscation of homes was prevalent as China prepared for the Olympics.
For example, the Journal reports that another couple has fought for compensation for seven years and has been under surveillance ever since.
Thank goodness we have the Fifth Amendment in the United States and a judiciary that is willing to ensure that property owners can have a fair jury trial to determine just compensation. A property owner can stand up to various sorts of government projects as unconstitutional: urban renewal projects have been stopped when courts have found that they do not serve a public purpose. And even in questionable types of takings, such as new baseball stadiums that have been constructed using public monies, ie., the Washington Nationals new ballpark, property owners have been fairly compensated for the takings of their properties.
