yesterday's majority opinion 'based' (note scare quotes) on '67 _hawaii v mIdkiff_ case, in that ruling, warren court laid to rest notion that words 'public use' in 5th amendment 'takings' clause should be read literally to mean that property taken must then be owned/operated by gov't and open to public use...
midkiff case stemmed from hawaii land reform legislation empowering gov't to condemn land of large landowners and transfer ownership of that land to tenants, in that instance, court held that breaking up land oligopolies to correct *evils* (opinion's language, not mine) associated with such concentrated landownership served *public purpose*(again court's phrase), hence, private property had been taken for public use... michael hoover
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