Wayne County v. Hathcock

I concur with the majority’s result and decision to overrule Poletown Neighborhood Council v Detroit, 410 Mich 616; 304 NW2d 455 (1981), but do so for my own reasons.1

The Michigan Constitution states:

Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation therefor being first made and *486secured in a manner prescribed by law .... [Const 1963, art 10, § 2.]

Proper application of the art 10, § 2’s “public use” limitation on the exercise of eminent domain requires that the Court abandon Poletown’s holding that land can be taken by the government and transferred to a private…