Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the Ohio Supreme Court in Ohio Power Company v. Burns asking the court to uphold two long-recognized checks on the government’s power to take property by eminent domain—that the government may only take property that is necessary, and that courts can exercise the power of judicial review to ensure governments honor that limitation. 

“The framers of the Fifth Amendment and the drafters of Ohio’s Constitution both recognized that the government’s appetite is vast, and nowhere is this appetite more gluttonous than when it comes to the use of eminent domain,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. “Thankfully, the courts have held that there are limits on eminent domain and The Buckeye Institute urges the Ohio Supreme Court to affirm those limits and protect the property rights of Ohioans.”

When Ohio Power Company approved for AEP to install new transmission lines in Marietta, Ohio, Michael Burns and his neighbors found themselves at the confluence of two impermissible government actions—the government’s abuse of eminent domain and judicial deference to administrative agencies. In its brief, The Buckeye Institute has called on Ohio’s high court to exercise its power of judicial review and tell Ohio Power Company and AEP that the permanent easements they are demanding are unnecessary.

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UPDATE: On December 29, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that when a government entity exercises its power of eminent domain, it cannot take more property than is necessary to achieve its valid government aim.