Knick v. Township of Scott

The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause prohibits the government from "tak[ing]" private property "without just compensation." The Court correctly interprets this text by holding that a violation of this Clause occurs as soon as the government takes property without paying for it.

The United States, by contrast, urges us not to enforce the Takings Clause as written.

*2180It worries that requiring payment to accompany a taking would allow courts to enjoin or invalidate broad regulatory programs "merely" because the program takes property without paying for it. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae…