Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
Susette Kelo's legal battle with the government of New London, Conn. brought about one of the worst Supreme Court rulings in years. While she lost the case, her suit did spur a backlash. Many state legislatures enacted better takings protections to help property owners against eminent domain abuses.
But in a shocking development, the judge who cast a deciding vote on the case now says he would do differently:
Afterward, Susette and I were talking in a small circle of people when we were approached by Justice Richard N. Palmer. Tall and imposing, he is one of the four justices who voted with the 4-3 majority against Susette and her neighbors. Facing me, he said: "Had I known all of what you just told us, I would have voted differently."
I was speechless. So was Susette. One more vote in her favor by the Connecticut Supreme Court would have changed history. The case probably would not have advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Susette and her neighbors might still be in their homes.
Then Justice Palmer turned to Susette, took her hand and offered a heartfelt apology. Tears trickled down her red cheeks. It was the first time in the 12-year saga that anyone had uttered the words "I'm sorry."
The house she was forced to leave sits on property that is now vacant and underdeveloped. Turns out the city couldn't even develop the property after evicting everyone on it.
Still, I'm glad to see this judge apologize. Wouldn't it be nice if more government officials apologized or admitted wrongdoing? How many people are fired or resign or express the tiniest bit of remorse when things go wrong or decisions are messed up? Did we ever have a government culture where people took responsibility for their actions? Or has it always been this way?
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Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
For instance. Someone ordered $14 muffins for Justice Department conferences. What happened to the person who made this decision? I would bet large sums of money that nothing happened.
Dec '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
I'm envious of you for having seen such an authentic moment. My sputtering faith in the redemable nature of humanity could use a kick start from time to time. Seems like that would do the trick.
Was it ever any better? I don't think it was. If so, maybe at the local level, where those who failed didn't conflate their own peril with a great threat to the office in and of itself. Seems like a nice guise to hid under.
Edited on Sep 20, 2011 at 8:41amJun '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
There are two wonderful lessons here. Justice Palmer is a stand-up guy who, because he is human, erred. But he had the integrity when given the opportunity to apologize to someone harmed by his decision. Good for him and other officials and bureaucrats who have enough guts to admit they can be wrong.
Second lesson. When it comes down to overweening government trying to take private property from private citizens for something as inane as a new shopping center, the presumption should be strongly in favor of the citizens, especially if the government action will destroy or fundamentally change an existing neighborhood. It's one thing to take a strip from people's property to widen a road (so long as fair compensation is provided); it's a far different thing to destroy an entire neighborhood. In other words, Kelo should be reversed: it's bad law.
Edited on Sep 20, 2011 at 9:14amAug '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
Mollie,
You mention a potential tension allowing the subject of a piece to have "editorial authority" over what is written, but I think that the way you treated the subject and the Justice was the most ethical possible line to follow.
On my entertainment/pop culture blog, my main goal is to express my opinion, but when I disagree with others I want my presentations of their views to be accurate. That requires me to give them say over my representations of what they said or wrote. It doesn't meant that I cannot follow that with, :but they didn't really say what they meant" or "that they are wrong in what they said."
Making sure statements are presented accurately is a far cry from letting an advertiser choose copy.
Given how much journalism is cut and paste from press releases, the kind of diligence you embodied here is praise worthy. It is the kind of thing I assume is expected of me in academic work, and that I wish more journalists did. It is much better than "selectively quoting" for effect.
Great piece btw.
May '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
Susette Kelo lost her home and Judge Palmer says he's sorry. Big deal. Talk is cheap. If Palmer were truly sorry he'd find a line of work he's more suited to. A dog-walker or something like that.
Nov '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
Judge Palmer is not to be excused in my book. It would not have been very hard for him to have taken a little more time, thought a little deeper about taking someone’s property away from them for a private use and not for a public use, in a case in which that had never been done before.
I know they claimed and the U.S. Supreme Court also claimed it was the same thing because it was for a public benefit. But they had to tie their brains in knots to come to that conclusion, which should have been a warning to them not to do it.
Dec '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
A legal decision is supposed to be a dispassionate review of the facts and a judgment on how the law applies to these facts. The judge’s remorse would seem to imply that he was trying to use the law to achieve some supposed “good”, not judging the facts of the case. For this he should be ashamed, and probably impeached for not knowing his job.
Dec '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
I ally myself with Foxman's comment; such late recriminations, absent action, are really the worst that public figures can dribble out. What possible good can their chest-beating do, now?
I am reminded of Morgenthau's acknowledgement of his participation in and support for the policies that made the Depression Great. So? It's not as if Morgentahu then when about correcting his mistakes.
These are merely drunks that have joined AA and admitted they are alcoholics. There are still eleven more steps to go and they must take those steps.
Aug '10
Re: Kelo Judge Says He Would Vote Differently Now
To be precise, the judge did not admit wrongdoing. After the "apology" he took great pains to say he was merely expressing sorrow for what Ms. Kelo endured. However, if it is accurate that he told Mr. Benedict, "Had I known all of what you just told us, I would have voted differently," then that goes beyond expressing wise-Latina-style empathy. It is a strange formulation, and it seems to imply that the lesser the chance a development project will be completed, the less the taking of private property for said project is justified. It's reminiscent of the federal government's picking winners and losers such as in the case of Solyndra (hoped to be one of the former, sadly one of the latter). Rather than judging the likelihood of a real estate project's success in the course of weighing whether private property should be confiscated by the state, the judge should have focused on the issues of liberty at stake.